Don't Let it Get to Your Head
by Sky the wolfdog9
Summary: AU.  Alfred manages to get himself ridiculously famous and let's it all go to his head.  Then, when Arthur comes to visit for the summer, he gets dragged into all of the drama as well. USxUK, FrancexCanada and some more, yaoi/gay.
1. Chapter 1

** First Hetalia story, so I'm kind of nervous. Heh, heh, I feel awkward too…and excited at the same time. Well, I hope you enjoy this. :)**

**XXXX**

Entering homes of friends and relatives without permission or a warning was a rather bad habit Alfred F. Jones had picked up on. The second he entered, expecting to be yelled at for being rude by his half-brother, Matthew Williams, Alfred was greeted with silence, though it was occupied with a wild drum riff in the distance. Smiling to himself, Alfred made himself at home, listening to the beat, Matthew would normally play whenever he got bored, was stressed or whenever he needed to practice for a performance. Matthew was dying to perform publicly too, hoping that he'd finally be noticed, Alfred had happily agreed to help his relative out, asking the school principal for permission to use the auditorium on Wednesday that week.

Whistling _The Star Spangled Banner_ to himself, Alfred tossed a leftover cheeseburger in the microwave, tapping in the desired time to heat up his snack. He'd go upstairs and rudely surprise Mattie later, right now, he was starved. Having thought about it for a while, Alfred was going to ask Matthew if he could sing a song with him just for kicks, Alfred loved performing publicly, but had only done so twice, that was back in grade school, when he was nine. Teachers had praised him for having such a great voice and had offered his parents some chances at getting Alfred noticed, without Alfred knowing of course. Even though his parents had declined, Alfred still fought alongside Matthew to be noticed, though Matthew more than Alfred.

Reverting his whistling to humming, for his cheeseburger prevented him from doing so, Alfred burst into Matthew's room, making the boy squeak and drop his drumsticks. Laughing, Alfred apologized and made himself comfortable on Matthew's bed, eating his cheeseburger obliviously as Matthew glared at him.

"Hey Mattie, I was thinking about it lately, would it be fine if I sang a song with you for your performance on Wednesday?" swinging his legs like a child as he asked his question, Alfred ignored the slight shock that painted itself on his half-brothers face. Matthew probably expected to be playing alone, albeit it being a scary thought, he was hoping that Alfred would ask him this very question, like always, Alfred was destined to outshine him one way or another. Thinking it over, Matthew knew that he'd hurt the American if he rejected him, but something in the back of his mind told him to let him just so he wouldn't have to deal with an upset Alfred.

"Uh, I guess you could, what song do you have in mind?" he finally asked after his brief moment of solitude. Alfred beamed at this and jumped up, rummaging through Matthew's collection of CD's, some being Alfred's for when they guy came over abruptly. Matthew had never put the CD's in any type of order, so it was bound to be hard to find the one Alfred was looking for, they owned over three hundred by the way.

"I was thinking of something from Secondhand Serenade, or School Boy Humor ya know? The girls would totally dig us if we did," the American smiled, pulling out two CD cases that were far away from each other in the collection. Matthew tilted his head slightly, Alfred was a heart throb with the girls and it kind of irritated the Canadian, the two of them looked like twins for heaven's sake and Alfred still got more females around him.

"I would've chosen Green Day," Matthew mumbled, tapping a drumstick against one of the drums lightly, earning a catchy beat. "I didn't think you'd ask me now, I mean, I've already chosen a riff to play too and we'll need a guitarist and the such," he added, waving the other drumstick while still keeping the beat with the other. Alfred momentarily bobbed his head to the taps, but halted his actions, plopping down on Matthew's bed once more.

"Well, yeah, I know we'd need one, that's why I already arranged that," Alfred pointed out with a bright smile. Matthew's hopes fell even further at that, now he was forced to play with other people, count on Alfred to make him sour for the rest of the day. Huffing, Matthew reluctantly agreed to it and heard that Kiku, Alfred's Japanese friend, would be their pianist. "Got a guitarist in mind? I could as Gilbert, but he's kind of an ass and would ruin everything…"

"I-I could ask Francis…" Matthew blushed at mentioning his crush. Alfred's thoughtful frown disappeared and was replaced with a happy, yet sly smile as he clapped his half-brother on his shoulder, agreeing that Francis would be a great idea. Francis played guitar, but never had performed for anybody that Matthew knew of, he had played for him once and Matthew was blown away at how good the guy was at it. Matthew had tried guitar himself once, but all he got was sore fingertips and always ended up being frustrated, Francis had played a soft song for him, so Matthew didn't know if he could play something he and Alfred had in mind. "I'll see if he can play the song we're going to sing, could you postpone our performance?"

"Of course I can, I already did too, don't worry, I've got this all planned out!" flashing his signature smile, Alfred went as far as adding a thumbs up and a wink. Matthew could only slouch in the stool he sat on, feeling defeated, there went his only chance at fame, this would be a fifteen minutes of fame moment, he could just tell and the thought kind of got him down. Matthew almost told Alfred to cancel the gig, but knew that it was ridiculous, besides, it was probably just nerves and instinct getting to him. Two weeks from now, he'd be at photo shoots, doing interviews and being noticed for once. That thought lifted his spirits a bit and slammed the drumsticks down on the drums, starting a riff without warning Alfred, which much so Matthew's amusement, jumped with a girlish yelp.

Alfred hadn't expected for Matthew to up and start a riff without telling him, the Canadian always made sure to tell someone something would happen beforehand, so this was sort of unexpected, maybe he was just happy. Alfred smile, Matthew never seemed to be happy these days and sadly, he didn't know that the cause of his unhappiness was he himself and his popularity in school. His popularity wasn't as full blown as Ludwig's, a German boy that had just recently moved to the States, the guy managed to rake in even more girls than Alfred and Gilbert combined and he didn't even try. Hell, Ludwig looked like he hated it, giving that he was getting intimate with that cute little Feliciano boy.

Sighing, Alfred heated up another cheeseburger, listening to the happy beat Matthew played upstairs. His popularity was enough to satisfy him, but the thought of singing publicly thrilled him, it was great, he had loved singing ever since he was little. It would also probably get him a little more famous too, outside of school wise that is. Alfred had remembered his childhood friend, Arthur Kirkland, the British boy would absolutely abhor a huge load of attention, that was for sure. Smiling forlornly to himself, Alfred also remembered that the boy had moved back to England a few years back, he missed him dearly and Arthur had never gotten the chance to visit him either even though he had promised to do so whenever he got the chance. Maybe he was lying, because who the hell was that busy at the age of seventeen? Err…Alfred couldn't even remember how much older Arthur was than himself, was it two years? Yeah, that sounded right.

The sound of the drums abruptly stopped and Alfred turned to look at the stair case, waiting for Matthew to emerge from the second floor. A minute passed, and the Canadian appeared with his small red and white phone pressed softly to his ear, listening intently to whoever was on the other side. Alfred, figuring that it wasn't anything that would concern himself, returned to waiting for his cheeseburger to heat up.

"Hey Alfred, when's the gig?" Matthew asked as he sat at the dinner table, resting his elbows on the table, the phone still pressed lightly to his ear.

"Next Monday, I even got the principal to advertise it," he gave a thumbs up, he knew that putting up flyers for their gig would attract more attention, though it was only in school. Alfred had told Matthew to tell people out of school and the boy had yet to do so, he didn't have many friends that didn't attend the school they attended. Matthew nodded and returned to his conversation with whoever was on the phone with him.

XXX

Alfred didn't exactly expect to get even more attention after the flyers were hung, but Tuesday, he had received so much more attention than he had Monday that week. Apparently there were some girls that had never heard of him, found his picture on the flyer attractive and hunted him down. Alfred, every now and then, saw the slightly bitter looks he received from some other male students, but ignored them, talking smoothly with the girls, kindly declining their offers of dates. Now that the gig was officially set to Monday next week, Alfred, Matthew, Kiku and Francis, who had just recently confirmed that he could attend, would have to practice every evening in the auditorium after school and at home.

He really enjoyed practicing with the other three as well. Kiku was great on the keyboard, Alfred never knew the boy could be so energetic whenever he played, but Francis had stated that music can do things to people. Matthew definitely fit that statement too, he was normally quiet, shy and a tad reserved, but that evening, he had played like he had never played before, going crazy one the drum set. Francis, who claimed to play calm music more often than high strung music like the one they were rehearsing, played like he had never even heard the term 'calm music'. It was funny, truthfully. They had decided to play American Idiot by Green Day and even though it was bashing on the country he was so proud of living in, Alfred agreed to sing it. It allowed Francis and Matthew to get their own little bits of attention, Kiku having play second guitar. Alfred was baffled when he had learned that Kiku was also rather impressive on the guitar, but not as much as when he touched the keys of a piano or keyboard. Another song would be Your Call by Secondhand Serenade, Alfred knew that Matthew down right adored that song, for the boy was in tears every time he heard it. Playing it was a whole different thing too, all four of them had gotten rather emotional after that and deemed it the last song to be played. The last one they had decided on performing would be Heaven by O.A.R.

"How about we start with Heaven, American Idiot goes next and of course, we've decided to end with Your Call," Kiku suggested, taking out a small palm sized notebook out of his pocket to write the order of the songs down. Matthew, Francis and Alfred had all agreed to that order after a bit of conversing about it.

"Man, I'm glad our school's so open to this kind of stuff," Matthew smiled, tapping his drumsticks together, maintaining a steady beat to Alfred's whistling. "This is all so nerve wracking, I'm surprised I'm even doing this," the Canadian continued, taking a shaky deep breath to show how nervous he really was. "But I'm super excited too."

"Yeah, don't worry too half-bro, we're going to be amazing," another flash of his signature smile along with a thumbs up got Matthew to smile a tad more, tapping his drumsticks together some more, creating a catchy beat that Alfred whistled some more to.

After their small break, they had decided to end their practice session with a quick run over what they were struggling with in each song before packing up to go home. The school provided the keyboard and drum set, so Matthew and Kiku had a little less to do than Francis did. Waving their goodbyes to each other, Kiku went one direction, Francis another, though sending Matthew a suggestive look and Alfred and his half-brother in a different one. They walked home in silence, Matthew still a tad red at the look Francis had given him when the four had split up to go home. Alfred continued to whistle happily on the way home, deciding to stay over at Matthew's for the night, having called his parents beforehand.

"Do you think we'll do good?" Alfred stopped his whistling to look over at his half-brother in slight confusion, though the look of doubt explaining the question to the American. Alfred wasn't exactly the kind of guy to get nervous about something, only worrying about it until the real thing was about to happen. Matthew on the other hand, dwelled on something days before it would happen and sometimes, months. Smiling Alfred placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder, gaining the Canadian's attention.

"I said don't worry about it buddy, we'll be amazing," his one thousand watt smile was probably blinding Matthew…

XXX

The week continued by almost uneventfully, excluding the extra attention three out of the four of them were receiving. Alfred watched as Matthew made them dinner, Alfred didn't exactly enjoy cooking food, for all he could do in that topic was microwave and boil. A certain shaggy haired blond with large eyebrows popped into his head at the thought of cooking and he had to chuckle to himself. Matthew sent him a strange look, but continued on with making their meal for the evening. Thinking of Arthur always made Alfred miss the other and feel nostalgic, so he always ended up having to change his thought pattern before it got any further, making him feel old.

Matthew's cell phone rang and the boy allowed it to ring a few times before actually picking it up. He greeted with his usual '_hello, this is Matthew Williams speaking, you might have the wrong number_' Alfred had to snicker at the last part of the greeting. People always called Matthew, not intending to call the boy, so he had changed his usual '_hello this is Matthew_' to what was stated earlier. Matthew's lips curled into a smile as whoever was on the phone seemed to intentionally call him, listening intently to the person.

"Alfred, Francis wants to speak with you," handing the cellular to his half-brother, Matthew resumed his meal making as Alfred took the device and pressed it against his ear, greeting the Frenchman with a casual _'sup?'_.

"Ah! Alfred, our dear Arthur is coming over for the summer from Angleterre, and I mean for the _whole_ summer," the guitarist announced, happiness evident in his voice. Francis had also known Arthur when he was younger, though the two always ended up arguing and fighting over the most of ridiculous of things. But none the less, Alfred was shocked, had Arthur forgotten his number, or had he intentionally called Francis first? Oh yeah, he had lost his previous cell phone…

"Really? That's amazing!" Alfred whooped, punching a fist into the air. Summer wasn't in a month, but he was happy to hear about this, now he had something else to look forward to. Francis had a habit of speaking something in French first before speaking it in English, it kind of irritated Alfred, but he let the guy talk the same sentence twice whenever he did so, which he was doing now, Alfred normally tuned Francis out until he heard an English word.

"I'm surprised he didn't call you first."

"Hah, I lost my old cell," Alfred chuckled sheepishly, itching at the back of his neck even though Francis wasn't physically present. Francis made a sound of understanding before asking to have Matthew be put back on. Handing the cell phone back to his half-brother, Alfred resumed to being bored, yet, there was a small amount of excitement. His childhood friend was coming over for the whole freaking summer, so Arthur did care about him, and that made Alfred smile, though, he'd have to ask Arthur why it had taken him so long to get a whole free summer. Who was busy at this age anyways?

Alfred, Matthew, Francis and Kiku hung out with each other more now that they were a self-proclaimed band. They practiced every evening after school and Alfred practiced with Matthew every night for as long as they could, normally until Matthew's wrists began to hurt since he hadn't played this extensively ever in his life. Matthew had said that Alfred was a great singer, though Alfred saw a small amount of bitterness in the boys eyes, he had decided to ignore it. Every now and then, Francis would come over to practice with them, Kiku doing the same thing, though less occasionally, being more busy with having to tutor someone.

It was now Sunday, and poor Matthew was so stressed that he couldn't even keep the beat on his drums. Alfred had told him to take deep breaths and sit still, but the Canadian had told him that sitting still felt impossible. Alfred knew that the Canadian would be even more stressed on Monday, especially right before performance, so he was seriously worried.

"Dude, if you keep stressing out like this on Monday, we'll never be amazing, just calm down," Alfred ordered, shaking the boys shoulder slightly. Alfred had to admit that he was a bit nervous as well, his hands shaking in the slightest. "We'll be fine as long as we stay calm," he added, smiling broadly and crossing his arms, puffing his chest out dramatically, which almost made Matthew laugh. That was a good sign. Matthew thanked his half-brother for helping and had given the practice another shot, nailing it. Alfred had stated that Matthew sounded professional and the Canadian had smiled widely at that.

"Hey guys! _Devinez quoi_?" looking up at the sudden intrusion, Alfred and Matthew looked at the excited young man standing at the door to Matthew's room. How the hell did he get in? Alfred thought that he had locked the door…"Guess what?" Francis finally asked in English.

"What?"

"The media's going to be there!"

XXXX

**Devinez quoi** **– Guess what **

**Eh, heh, nervous, eh heh…Hope you guys are nice on this, it's kinda late at night and I'm kinda getting dull on the keyboard giving what time it is…Iggy isn't going to appear until probably next or the third chapter, probably even the fourth, though I doubt it. I really hope you like this and give it a chance, so please review, we all know that it's motivation :) Peace out my friends.**


	2. Chapter 2

** Second chapter :) Thanks to those who dropped a review and alerted/faved this, I really appreciate it. Well, with me being a normal, boring, uneventful person, I have no idea what it's like as a famous individual, so if you guys could give me advice if you know anything, that'd be very kind of you, I'm also reading a few stories that have that sort of topic, though they're kind of lengthy, so updates may be a little late after this chapter or probably the third chapter. **

**To Neelh: Lol, yeah, me too, this is going to be awesome :D It's gonna be hard to keep from rushing this story. **

**Enjoy.**

**XXXX**

"In, out, in, out, i—MATTIE CALM DOWN!" Alfred smacked his half-brother on the shoulder as the Canadian began to hyperventilate and mutter about negative things that could happen when they perform. The poor guy was so scared that Alfred had thought that all of his attempts to calm him were in vain, where was Kiku? He was supposed to be here half an hour ago with the anxiety pills Matthew had been prescribed a few years back, jeez Mattie had to run out at the most convenient of times…"You're stressed dude, everything you're doing is only going to make it worse, now deep breaths, in, out, in, out…"

Francis watched with a slightly worried expression on his face as Alfred coached Matthew through some breathing exercises, attempting to help the boy calm down. They were sitting up on stage, a few hours prior until their real show would begin so they could warm up and settle in. Very few students stayed after school, not bothering to go home and Francis could tell that they were mildly entertained at the free show they were given.

"Dude, you should calm down before the media gets here, they'll completely embarrass you on television and newspapers and internet and—"

"GOOD GOD ALFRED YOU'RE NOT MAKING THIS ANY BETTER!" Matthew wailed, pounding the American's head harshly with one of his drumsticks, receiving a sharp yelp of pain. Soon after that though, the Canadian resumed to his panic attack and mutterings of failure. Alfred gave Francis a helpless look, the other simply shrugging his shoulders, not knowing what to do about Matthew until Kiku arrived.

"Hey, are your parents coming?" Alfred asked out of nowhere, looking up from his shoes to peer at Francis. "My mom is, my dad's a firefighter, so we don't think he should come with the probability of having to go to work during our show, though it would've been awesome if you could've come. He wished me luck though so that must be a good thing right?" he looked kind of hurt at the mentioning of his father being unable to come, but they both knew well enough that being a firefighter came before attending something that wasn't required, no matter how harsh that sounded.

"Nah, my parents are off on business trips, _papa_ is in Japan and _maman _is in Germany, they won't be back until July," shrugging his shoulders, Francis began tuning his guitar by ear as Alfred sent him a sympathetic look.

"Doesn't it get lonely at home? I mean, I could never live without mom or dad, mom's always so nice and makes me dinner and lunch, I have to make breakfast though, and dad's really fun to hang out with despite being so busy and all," Alfred asked, a fond expression crossing his face as he spoke of his folks.

"I manage without _maman_ and _papa_," Francis answered with a sincere smile, sending another glance over at the panicking Canadian to his left, who was currently rocking back and forth, mumbling _O Canada_ to himself, stumbling on a few words here and there. Alfred gave his half-brother a worried look once more, pondering on whether he should try to calm the guy down again. It was worth a shot, but Kiku should arrive any moment with his pills, hopefully sooner than later, because they couldn't start practicing with a panicked Matthew and a missing Kiku.

A loud bang from the auditorium doors made the two snap their heads in the direction of the entrance, watching Kiku run down the aisle and up the steps that led to the stage, a small white bag in one hand and a water bottle in the other. Alfred smiled, sooner it was.

"_Sumimasen, sumimasen_, the people at the pharmacy didn't like the fact that I was picking the prescriptions up," Kiku apologized, bowing deeply, repeating the word 'sumimasen' over and over. After Alfred was forced to snap the Japanese boy out of his desperate apologies via smacking him just hard enough on the back to get his attention, Kiku gave Matthew his pills along with the bottle of water to swallow them with, face a little red. The Canadian gratefully took them, sighing after finishing his drink before returning to singing the Canadian national anthem to himself, waiting for the pills to kick in and calm him down. "I also brought snacks just in case we got a little hungry."

"Whoa! Awesome Kiku, you're amazing, thanks a bunch," Alfred cheered, snatching the bag of Lays potato chips from the Japanese boy's hand. Kiku offered Francis some, but the teen kindly declined them, saying that he'd have some later, Kiku had brought some other snacks as well which were stuffed into a plastic bag which he set down near the keyboard the school had provided.

Kiku had begun playing some tunes on the keyboard which got Alfred whistling along with Francis finger picking the guitar. Alfred encouraged Matthew to join in, which the Canadian did a few minutes later. Alfred didn't sing until it was one hour until show time, the media had arrived, a few photos being snapped here and there. Alfred hadn't known that they were present until a bright flashing came from his right, making him stop his quiet singing and look over to see what the source was. Now he knew why Matthew was so nervous, even if it was only two press groups at the moment, he could see the light on the camera that showed that it was on standby, ready to broadcast live any minute. He had no idea how they had heard of this either, maybe Mattie, Francis or Kiku had actually told someone who probably had a connection with the media. It was either that, or someone at school did, having enough interest to call these guys.

Alfred was the first to spot them, then Matthew, Francis and Kiku did as well, Matthew having a mild panic attack before managing to calm himself on his own with a breathing pattern Alfred had taught him to do. Francis seemed very excited at the fact that they were going to be aired on television and Kiku seemed indifferent about it, Alfred knew better than to think that the Japanese boy didn't care that the media was there, he was probably just as nervous and excited as Alfred was, and as the auditorium slowly filled up, his nerves began to rise.

"Okay, Mattie, I know how you feel now, would one of those anxiety pills kill me?" Francis laughed at Alfred's question as the auditorium began filling up a bit quicker now. About three hundred students out of thirteen hundred arrived, which was quite a bit for a band that was self-proclaimed and unknown. "Shut up Francis, Mattie, will one of those pills kill me if I take one?"

Matthew chuckled at how their roles seemed to have been reversed. "No Alfred they won't, but I don't think you should take one anyway, just take deep breaths like you told me," trying his hardest to not snap at his half-brother, Alfred started one of his breathing patterns his mother had taught him. He was lucky to have her, when she had heard that Alfred, Matthew, Francis and Kiku were going to perform just for fun and on a free-will, she had taught him some breathing techniques that helped calm his nerves just because she knew that this kind of stuff was stressful.

Before they knew it, it was almost time to start with their first song, they had managed to get a few students to help them out with some songs, one volunteering to do maraca eggs and tambourine, some as back-up singers since Matthew had trouble concentrating on drum beats if he was singing at the same time.

"Let's go Alfred!" looking up, Alfred saw his soccer team standing up, a large red letter printed on each of their shirts, reading 'GO ALFRED GO'. Smiling, Alfred pumped a fist in the air twice, something the soccer team did normally to signal confidence. They whooped and cheered, sitting back down as Francis chuckled at him.

"Those your noobs?"

"They're not noobs," Alfred chuckled, punching Francis playfully on the shoulder. The two joked around with each other until Matthew told them to stop it. Sticking his tongue out childishly at the wavy haired blond, Alfred turned to the crowd, the faint feeling of nervousness nagging at the back of his mind until it was snuffed out as he picked up the microphone, placing its stand off to the side. "Alright guys, are you ready?"

Playing Heaven was a blast, the kid on the maraca eggs was hilarious, for he danced like a fool on purpose to make the show even more entertaining for the crowd. Alfred was smiling the whole time he was singing, Francis happily jamming on his guitar, Matthew also looking content with his easy drum beat. Matthew was definitely excited for American Idiot, giving how wildly he got to beat at the drums, despite being quiet, you'd think he liked quiet music, but turned out he loved to bang on his drums as loudly as he could, though, still able to make it enjoyable. Kiku played second guitar in this song and also sang back-up along with two other kids. The crowd was standing up already, happily singing along with Alfred as they plowed through the chorus one last time.

Now Alfred would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy singing American Idiot, again, Kiku played second guitar, yet he and Francis were total punks on the six stringed instruments. Since Kiku practiced his guitar at home, Alfred had never seen the Japanese boy actually play it, so now that he got the chance to see him actually play, he learned about the wild side of the boy that he rarely displayed. Matthew was also having a blast, earning wild cheers for his small times in the spotlight after the chorus. Alfred knew that Francis would earn huge attention after the show giving that he got to play the guitar solo that came with the song. The kid that had been playing the maraca eggs was now banging on a tambourine, happily creating a silly dance for that as well.

Then Your Call came around. Alfred hoped that Matthew wouldn't burst into tears in the middle of the song when he played the beat during the second time they had to sing the chorus. That was the part that always got Matthew emotional. Kiku was doing such a beautiful job on the keyboard that Alfred saw that some girls and even guys were in tears. The boy on the second guitar, which was an acoustic guitar for this song, started the song off for them, Francis jumping in by the time the chorus was sung the third time.

When they concluded their performance, Alfred and Matthew were bouncing and whooping with excitement, Francis smiling satisfactorily as he watched the two half-brothers and Kiku concealing his emotions, though still showing that he was satisfied with how the show went. Alfred's soccer buddies did the wave, laughing hysterically after doing so and talking along with their audience who were still clapping and whistling. It took Alfred a moment to realize that cameras had been flashing the whole time and the light that signaled that the cameras were airing had been going on throughout the whole show and even now.

Three different media groups immediately approached them, holding microphones up to Alfred and Francis once they had made it up stage. Those three groups were lucky too, they got the first performance of two boys that would become extremely famous.

"Alfred, do you think that you did well?"

"Francis, when's your guys' next performance?"

"Where are you headed after tonight?"

Most of the questions were aimed at Alfred and Francis, Matthew feeling extremely frustrated and Kiku still looking indifferent, though a glint of jealousy flashed in his dark brown eyes. Slouching in his stool, Matthew tapped his drumsticks together twice before getting ready to leave without a word.

"Matthew, how do you think you did?" looking up at the microphone that had suddenly appeared in his face, Matthew looked a little shocked at actually being questioned. He was speechless at the moment before Francis slung an arm around his shoulders, giving a large grin at the Canadian who looked up at him in confusion.

"I-I think we did great."

XXX

"OH MY FUCKING GOD MATTIE, , LOOKIE HERE, WE'RE ON THE FRONT PAGE!" Alfred wailed, bursting through the door that allowed entrance to Matthew's house, a newspaper in his hand. Matthew was shocked and snatched the flimsy papers from Alfred's hands, eyes moving back and forth as he read the page. It read:

_GROUP OF TEENAGERS WOW CALIFORNIA PRESS_

_ Yesterday night, a group of teenagers performed for Hetalia high school on a whim. Three media groups attended and were thoroughly impressed by Alfred Jones, Francis Bonnefoy, Kiku Honda and Matthew Williams' performances. _

Matthew continued to read with great interest, he couldn't believe it! He thought that he'd never get on the newspaper none the less the front cover! This must be some sort of joke or something, if it was, Matthew would cry. Matthew didn't even notice that the world was slightly spinning.

"Mattie this is SO amazing isn't it? Mattie? Mattie, are you okay? Matt—"

Matthew was confused when he found himself in bed, was it all a dream? If it was, that would make Matthew very upset, well, that wasn't very long lived either when the sound of someone turning a page of a newspaper reached his ears. Looking up, Matthew spotted the very newspaper with the picture of them completely rocking out up on stage last night on the front page. Being overcome with pure happiness once more, Matthew passed out again.

XXX

Matthew and Alfred watched as Francis read the newspaper, eyes widening very, very slowly. Alfred had an excited smile stuck to his face and it didn't seem like it was going to leave any time soon, Matthew was still shocked from the news, his mind a tad numb. Francis finally finished reading, folding the newspaper before smiling up at his friends.

"We gonna tell Kiku or what?" the teen questioned, the two half-brothers eagerly agreeing to the action. Getting up, Matthew almost skipped to his car to drive Francis and Alfred to Kiku's house. All three could drive, but Matthew had dragged Alfred out of his house after regaining consciousness for the third time that day (if you include waking up that morning), to his car and sped off to Francis's abode, too happy to notice that he was going ten miles above the speed limit.

This time, Matthew managed to calm himself down and drive at a reasonable speed limit, surprised that he hadn't been pulled over by the police earlier. It took about eight minutes to get to Kiku's and when they did, Alfred rudely burst into the home, scaring the poor woman that was probably Kiku's mother. After a crazy moment that involved screaming, a hand gun and Jell-O being thrown at Alfred, they managed to calm Kiku's mother down, Matthew and Francis apologizing endlessly for Alfred's rudeness and requested to speak with Kiku. She was skeptical about it and demanded a reason and all Matthew had to do was hold up the paper that had all four of them on the front page. They swore that the poor lady was going to faint much like Matthew had done if it weren't for the excited shouts for her son to come downstairs.

"We're on the front page?" Kiku questioned almost skeptically, calmly taking the newspaper that was now in poor condition due to all of the rough handling it was receiving this morning. His eyes skimmed over the words and a small smile stretched across the Japanese boys face.

"I know right? This is just so amazing, if this is a dream, I'll go insane when I wake up," Alfred remarked, pinching himself multiple times in an attempt to prove himself that he was, in fact, conscious. Matthew had to agree with his American half-brother, if this was a dream, then he'd go insane when he woke up, but he was proven that he was awake when Alfred pinched him, Matthew yelping out in pain. Yep, definitely awake. "Dude, I'm totally off to tell my parents!" just then, Alfred's cell phone rang. Maybe their parents had already gotten the newspaper? Or had they seen the live broadcast?

Matthew listened to Alfred as he excitedly spoke with his parents, his father was probably very proud of Alfred and Alfred looked very happy as he listened to his mother's praise. Matthew sighed, his mom was off on vacation in Spain for the month, maybe he'd give her a call…Alfred's father was his father which explained why the two looked so alike, the guy tried to visit Matthew as much as possible, but with his current wife, and being a fireman, it wasn't often.

"Hey Mattie, wanna talk to dad?" nodding his head, Matthew took the cellular from Alfred's hand, pressing it softly against his ear.

"Hi dad."

"_Hey Mattie, I'm so proud of you and Al,_" came the happy voice of his father on the other side of the line. Matthew could hear the smile in his voice and smiled himself, striking up a conversation with his father. As Matthew talked with their dad, Alfred noticed two extra cars parked outside of Kiku's house when he looked out the window. It took a moment for Alfred to notice that it was their small paparazzi waiting outside for them, how the hell did they know that they were here? Maybe the fact that Matthew's car was parked outside gave them that hint, but how did they know that it was Matthew's?

"Guys, I think we have some company," Alfred pointed out, though a hint of excitement lingering in his voice. Maybe this wouldn't be a fifteen minutes of fame thing and maybe full blown fame? Looking over at his friends, Francis looked smug about the news and Matthew looked shocked, yet happy about it. Stepping out, the four talked to the two different media teams, Alfred and Matthew talking to one and Francis and Kiku to the other before switching to answer each of the teams' questions.

Thanking them, the two media teams smiled and left. Alfred turned to his three friends with a smile.

"Hey, this could be the start of something?"

"Maybe we should perform again no?" Francis suggested, earning an excited nod from Matthew. The smile on Alfred's face grew even further at the idea. "We could treat everyone to a school's out concert."

Alfred pumped a fist into the air. "Hell yeah!"

XXXX

**Sumimasen – Sorry**

**Maman – Mom**

**Papa - Dad**

**Oof, I kinda got distracted while writing this, so it might be kinda sloppy and sorry if the French isn't all that great. I don't speak it, so I have to resort to Google translate, though I do speak Spanish, probably doesn't help much, but thought that I'd just point that out. I might have to revise this story once I'm done with it so you can see how much better it could be when you decide to reread it sometime in the future :) Again, thank you for the favorites, alerts and especially for the reviews, those who reviewed, I'm very thankful for you guys of doing so. I'm not sure if Arthur will appear in the next chapter, though I think he will near the end or in the middle somewhere, hopefully I can get him in. So please drop a review, we all know that it's motivation. Peace out my friends.**


	3. Chapter 3

** Thanks a bunch again for the faves/alerts/reviews :) Well, the plot will slow down a bit once Arthur gets to the States (hopefully); just telling you since I feel like the beginning's moving kinda fast. Lol, my outline for this looks completely epic fail, I've written it in one of my notebooks and it's really fun to go through though since I've added a few things here and there such as a 'Relationship Circle', that was fun to do :)**

** Well, since the word limit on the summary kind of restricts me, even though I should've done this in the first chapter, I'll list most of the pairings that might happen other than the most obvious ones:**

**Alfred x Arthur**

**Matthew x Francis**

**Alfred x Ivan**

**Matthew x Gilbert**

**Ivan x Yao**

**Kiku x Heracles**

**Arthur x Francis**

** That's all I've got for the moment. Ha, ha, this is going to be so much fun. Enjoy.**

**XXXX**

Alfred awoke to the famous scent of Matthew's pancakes wafting into the guest room his half-brother had allowed him to crash in. Humming happily, Alfred sat up, stretched and got ready for the day, brushing his teeth in a sloppy manor, literally running a comb through his hair once, barely remembering to apply deodorant and almost forgetting to use the toilet. Giving himself a once-over in the mirror, flashing a megawatt smile in the process, Alfred nodded to himself and dashed out of the attached bathroom, he couldn't wait for some pancakes! Mattie knew how to make them just right, and he loved the syrup the Canadian used.

Sitting on the rail and sliding down it, Alfred swung around the post that held the railing up once he reached the bottom, barreling into the kitchen with as much audacity as possible when doing so. Matthew looked over his shoulder, a spatula in one hand and an apron tied around his waist, a plate of pancakes already waiting for the American on the small dining table. Thanking him quickly, Alfred plopped down in the chair, clanging his silverware against each other once before cutting up his delicious breakfast with the knife.

A knock on the door tore Matthew away from the stove, telling Alfred to watch the pancakes so he could answer it. Alfred didn't know why Matthew would want to answer it while in the middle of the task of making breakfast, but watched over the stove none the less, making sure that Mattie's house didn't burn to the ground whilst munching on his depleting pile of pancakes. A moment later, Matthew reentered the kitchen with Francis in tow. Alfred threw Matthew a questioning look before figuring that they should hang out together a little more often now that they sort of were a band. Speaking of band, Alfred had yet to come up with a name.

"Hey guys, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now, but what do you think our band name should be?" he asked while sticking a forkful of fluffy pancakes that were drenched in Matthew's special maple syrup into his mouth, muffling out the second half of his question. Francis and Matthew lapsed into a thoughtful silence after rolling their eyes. Matthew looked thoroughly stumped, but Francis seemed to have a few ideas go across his mind before being rejected likely. "I've been thinking _The Heroes_?"

"You have got to be kidding me, that is a childish name and quite boring," Francis immediately shot the suggestion out of the sky of possibility. Alfred looked offended for a brief moment before falling back into thoughtful solitude.

"Maybe we should discuss this when Kiku is present, would you like some pancakes Francis?" Alfred tuned Matthew out just as the boy offered some pancakes to the French teen. What songs would they sing for the School's Out concert? He had a few in mind, but they would probably be rejected by Francis much like his band name suggestion. He wanted a lot of energetic songs for the School's Out concert because of the fact that school was out, it was a great idea, but the only energetic song that he could think of that would probably be decent enough for Francis was Camera Shy by School Boy Humor. They'd definitely get more girls next year and over the summer if they sang that, maybe he could persuade Francis with that if the French teen rejected that song. With it being Thursday, they had six days to come up with a few songs and practice them and that was a bit concerning too. _This also should be discussed when Kiku would be present_, Alfred thought.

XXX

Alfred loved the attention he got at school. Even though he normally got quite a bit of attention from some girls before this all had happened, some had somehow managed to overlook him until now, flocking around him like seagulls to food. Matthew would watch from afar, only about six girls had approached him so far and with how many were surrounding Alfred right now, one could be fooled into thinking the whole school was crowding around him. Sighing, Matthew resumed his walk to his third period. As he passed another rather large group of girls, all Matthew could assume was that it was Francis's 'fan club', and the thought made his heart beat uncomfortably and speed up his pace in hopes of getting away from the commotion as soon as possible.

Laughing, Alfred was happy to sign autographs for plenty, telling them that he'd be there for three more years and that they had plenty of time to ask for autographs, but signed them none the less. It was great, if this was a low grade level of popularity, he wondered what the real experience was like; girls he'd never seen, parties, uh…stuff. Alfred had to smile broadly at the thought, one of the girls mistaking the smile as him taking a liking to her. He ended up having Kiku save his butt, laughing hysterically as the Japanese boy dragged him away from the group of students that was slowly dispersing in slight disappointment.

"You're fan club looks bigger," the quiet boy stated the obvious, a hint of humor dancing in his voice. Alfred smiled broadly once more; hopefully he wasn't blinding his friends' with his smiles. "Francis's fan club has grown considerably as well, had to save him from a similar predicament," Alfred laughed at the news. This was just too great, he was getting so popular; back when he was in elementary school, he was an outcast and in middle school, he had been laughed at for his huge amounts of acne and glasses. His mother had fixed the acne problem for him, and ever since he had gotten the game winning touchdown for homecoming that year, everyone loved him. When he had finished football, Alfred had immediately signed up for spring soccer, increasing his popularity with the girls and the occasional guy even further.

Walking Alfred into his advanced Spanish class, Kiku waved him goodbye and left. Alfred sat back in his seat comfortably, earning some fond stares from other students who seemed to be dying to praise his first performance and talk to him about what the School's Out concert would be like, but didn't get up to do so. The teacher though, acted like nothing had ever happened, uncapping a marker and writing in Spanish on the white board at the front of the class.

While Alfred was taking Spanish, Matthew had chosen French and Francis had chosen German. Alfred had been learning Spanish ever since the sixth grade and was learning quickly much to his teacher's surprise with how dense he acted. Alfred had skipped level one and started immediately at level two, struggling the first few weeks before picking up and skipping level three, going to level four in seventh grade before making it into advanced Spanish.

Tuning his teacher out, Alfred took a piece of loose leaf paper out of his string backpack, writing down name ideas for their band. A lot of them had the word _hero _in them, so most would be rejected immediately by Francis and probably even Matthew. Thinking about it thoroughly, Alfred came up with as many names as he could, getting as imaginative as his brain allowed. His train of thought, though, was interrupted by an angry sounding Spanish teacher who stood over him with an irritated look on his face, arms crossed over his chest. Smiling sheepishly up at the man, Alfred folded the paper twice, stuffed it into a folder and opened his text book. His favorite name so far was _American Fever_.

During lunch, Alfred had taken out the folded up piece of paper for Francis, Kiku and Matthew to look at, wanting their opinions and possible ideas. He watched a tad nervously as Matthew, Kiku and Francis read through his band name ideas with critical eyes, didn't they know that they looked like they were reading a very long obituary? Something like that. Gulping when Matthew sent him a strange look, he figured that he had just read _The Hamburger Men_.

"Hm? _American Fever_? How about _The United Nations_?" Matthew tilted his head to the side slightly. Alfred mentally face palmed; how could he have not thought of that? That was an amazing idea, they could all have their own flags next to them and on their instruments, of course the American flag would have to be flown above the others, courtesy of the law, but the idea was still awesome.

"Dude, why did I not think of that? That's an amazing name, how 'bout that Francis? Kiku? I like it, I just need your approval," he hoped they liked the name too, Kiku looked like he was taking a liking to _The United Nations_, while Francis seemed to be thinking it over more thoroughly. After a very, excruciatingly long time of thinking, Kiku and Francis nodded their heads in approval. Pumping a fist into the air, Alfred whooped.

"Alright! From now on, we're _The United Nations_!"

The four of them sat in the auditorium, having just finished conversing on which songs to sing. They had agreed to sing Cross My Heart by Marianas Trench, High School Never Ends by Bowling for Soup and Faster by Matt Nathanson. Alfred had decided to save Camera Shy for a later time and was the one to suggest High School Never Ends; even though the song was rather inappropriate, it would still be fun to sing. It had taken a while to come up with the other two, trying to find good songs to get their audience cheering and having a good time. It was official that they'd conclude the concert with High School Never Ends, it was just the right thing to do.

"Hey, maybe we should play outside too," Kiku suggested while Francis tuned his guitar. "I heard that it was going to be a beautiful day," he continued. Alfred like the idea, but everyone knew not to trust the meteorologists, it could unexpectedly rain on them.

"Maybe, we'll see what the weather's like on Wednesday, if it's nice, we'll have the principal announce that the concert's gonna be outside," nodding in agreement, Kiku began a small, bouncy tune on the keyboard, using only one hand. Alfred was so excited for the School's Out concert, not only because school would be out, but Arthur would be coming over for the summer, they haven't seen each other in years, Alfred wondered what his childhood friend looked like now. Smiling at the optimism, Alfred started whistling to himself, waiting for Francis to finish his tuning.

The four practiced at home and at school for as long as they could, Alfred and Matthew both practicing often at Matthew's house. The mornings were filled with good breakfasts' since Matthew was such a good cook, much like with their days before their first concert. Alfred couldn't cook, but Arthur was a lost cause, while Alfred just wasn't trusted with knives, Arthur burned everything he touched, the poor guy even managed to burn water; well, technically water didn't burn it evaporated, but with how it smelled, Alfred was damn sure that it was burning.

They had hung up flyers once more around the school, encouraging students to invite friends both in and out of school along with family, not forgetting to include the fact that it could be outside in an attempt to make it sound more appealing to some. Kiku was awesome on Photoshop, managing to make the flyer look professional, it probably could be deemed professional if there was such thing as professional flyer making and if they had printed it on some fancy poster paper. Now Alfred wished that they had used some fancy sort of poster paper, but beggars can't be choosers.

Smiling to himself as the last one printed, Kiku grabbed two large rolls of masking tape and started taping the flyers everywhere with Alfred, having handed Matthew and Francis a stack of their own. They purposely printed extras to that they could hand them out, and in Francis's case, have a whole bunch of pretty girls hand them out, during school hours. Alfred had decided to take care of the tall spots so the taller students didn't have to look down. They had two in the library, one in the middle of the hallway, one on the bulletin board that had other flyers on it, a few in the cafeteria, one on the auditorium doors and so on.

"Man, this is going to be so awesome," Alfred bounced up and slapped the paper onto a pillar that supported the building.

"Alfred, I think that's a little too tall even for the tallest kids here," Kiku pointed out, looking almost directly up at the flyer that was now probably trapped until someone got a ladder. Rolling his eyes, Alfred took another paper, put the masking tape on and slapped it on, about a yard below the first, his expression reading 'that better?'. Kiku nodded his head as if the question had actually been asked and continued down the hallway, stack of papers in his arms and the two rolls of tape around his wrists. Francis and Matthew had to cover the second and third floors while Alfred and Kiku covered the basement and first floor. They didn't need many flyers for the basement since only the gym and science labs were down there, but they had managed to put so many that nobody would not hear of the concert. The first floor was by far the largest of the four floors (if you included the basement as a floor) and the reason why the stack of flyers Alfred and Kiku were hauling around was almost thrice the size of Francis and Matthew's.

Francis jumped onto the railing and slid down it, much like Alfred had done a few days ago. It was Saturday, and he couldn't wait to go home and do whatever. Matthew trailed behind, failing to mirror Francis's fun form of transportation, simply taking the steps. The Canadian was content with his alone time with Francis, he didn't have Alfred to bother him, no girls flocking the French teen and no Kiku to make the situation a tad embarrassing. He was happy with how things were going at the moment, watching Francis hang up the flyers as he stuck the tape on them and handed them to said teen.

"You two are so alike," Matthew rolled his eyes in slight amusement as Francis walked away from the stair case.

"Excuse _moi_?"

"Well, Alfred did that not too long ago," Matthew giggled, handing Francis another flyer, tape attached to the top. The expression in Francis's eyes seemed to soften at his giggles, but it was short lived when the French teen smirked and slapped the flyer onto the window with an 'anything else?' "Well, you two have almost the same amount of girls acting like the paparazzi," Matthew almost spat out the word _girls _bitterly, but held it.

"Are you jealous?" the French teen went as far as waggling his eyebrows, which made Matthew turn red and stutter incoherent English, or was it French? Either way, it was a likely mix of the two. Francis guffawed at Matthew's tangled vocabulary and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling fondly at his Canadian friend. "Don't worry, _je t'aime bien plus que leur_." Francis almost purred, ruffling Matthew's hair, making the boy's face only flush a deeper red at what he had said.

"_M-moi aussi_," Matthew managed out in his amateur French, gaze falling to the ground as if weighed down by a ton of bricks. A large grin graced Francis's face as the French boy lifted Matthew's hand and kissed the top of it before continuing his way down the hall. Smiling a small, shy smile, Matthew started walking again, slowly trailing behind his best friend and crush.

XXX

"Come on Kiku, pick up, pick up…" Alfred paced back and forth, chanting his last two words like a broken record, his cellphone being brought to Kiku's voice mail after a few rings. Uttering a curse to himself, Alfred dialed again. He had texted him twelve times already, tried to call him three, now four times and still nothing. "Damn it, if he keeps this up, the show will start late and I don't think anyone wants that," Alfred growled, peeking around the curtains. It had rained the last day of school, so they ended up performing in the auditorium, much to many students' disappointment. There were about six hundred in attendance right now, easily out numbering the audience size of their first concert.

"He's just running late, give him a chance," Matthew grumbled from the side, rubbing his forehead and taking out an apple to eat. His nerves were getting to him again even if he had taken an anxiety pill two hours ago, six hundred was just a really big number for his brain to process. Tapping his foot, Alfred growled as he was, once more, brought to Kiku's now annoying voice mail. Clapping his cell phone shut rather harshly, the singer stuffed it into his pocket and continued pacing, hands jammed into his pockets as well.

Kiku knew that it was a horrible day to get groceries with his mother after school. He knew that it would've hurt her if he had said no, but this was absolutely ridiculous. The lines were all full and he swore that everyone was paying in pennies just to make him late. He had accidentally left his cellular at home, giving him no way of contacting Alfred unless he asked someone else if he could use their phone. Sighing, Kiku had never felt so antsy, he was normally patient, but the fact that he might hold back a concert with an even bigger audience than before along with more media groups, was just unnerving.

"Uh, mom, I'll take a cab to school, I'm going to be late," the Japanese boy finally announced his plan, already stepping out of line. His mother sent him a confused look before remembering why he needed to get back to school. Nodding almost forlornly, she allowed him to leave. Power walking out of the grocery store was how Kiku left until he was outside and out of her sight, bursting into a sprint.

The cab ride had been torturous as well, the driver had driven a little too slowly, earning a few protests from other drivers here and there. Hastily uttering a '_arigato_' Kiku handed the guy a twenty, telling him to keep the change and sped off, bursting through the backstage doors as dramatically as possible, making Matthew jump and drop his apple. Uttering his apologies, Kiku stumbled over to Alfred to explain.

"After school, my mom wanted to run some errands with me, so naturally I said yes, but everyone in the check-out lines were probably paying in pennies and then the cab driver was so slow and I forgo—" he was cut off by a hand placed on his shoulder, a light chuckle coming from Alfred. Looking up in confusion, Kiku noticed his moment of out-of-characterness and flushed red.

"At least you're here, we had five minutes to spare," looking relieved himself, Alfred took his hand off of Kiku's shoulder and watched Francis tune his guitar, the guy was spending an awful lot of time doing so, much longer than normal and Alfred wondered if there was something wrong with the French boy's instrument. He noticed that there was a hand sized sticker of the French flag on the body of the guitar too and all he could do was smile at that before voicing his concerns. "Is everything okay with your guitar?"

"Yeah, I'm just being a perfectionist right now," Francis nodded his head, plucking the sixth string once more, staring intently at a small box in his lap. Since the crowd was so loud out front, Francis had left for home to bring a mechanical tuner since it was more accurate and more convenient with a loud crowd in front of you, no literally in their cases since they were backstage, but still a rational point for having to go bring one.

Alfred was surprised at how many press groups that had decided to come, probably about six or seven, but he couldn't tell since they were all scattered. Again, he saw his soccer team with their 'Go Alfred Go' shirts, but also spotted Matthew's hockey mates, their message reading 'Rock on Mattie'. Francis had laughed when he walked out on stage to see both teams all seated next to each other, thus their messages of encouragement right next to each other. Matthew had smiled broadly and gave a thumbs up to his team, even though hockey was the winter sport, they all still hung around each other whenever they could. Every now and then, Alfred would see Matthew laughing at a table during lunch with his hockey team.

They had agreed on playing Faster first, Cross My Heart second and High School Never Ends last and like last time, all three being a blast to play for their school. Alfred and Matthew's sports teams rocking out with each other in rather comical ways, some doing air guitar and others banging their heads just for the fun of it, it was truly a sight to see, and a rather hilarious one at that.

Faster had gotten a few girls screaming giddily. Francis was doing great on guitar as usual, his perfectionist ways before the show paying off. They had to get two students to play the trumpets for them, none of them able to play the trumpet. Kiku didn't have a huge role in the song, but still had one none the less, not missing a single note. Matthew was also enjoying his time on the drums. Alfred had encouraged their audience to sing along by pointing the microphone at them, getting almost the whole population in the auditorium to sing the chorus.

They needed a second guitar for Cross My Heart and Alfred encouraged the crowd to clap the beat, telling them to stand up. The two boys that had played the trumpets for Faster were now back-up singers, clapping along with the crowd. Francis and the second guitarist both stood side by side, playing their parts almost flawlessly, the second guitarist making only one mistake that nobody but Francis noticed.

Their last song obviously being High School Never Ends, the teachers that had attended, instead of looking upset at the song, had expressions on their faces that read 'that's so true'. They kept the second guitarist for this song and Kiku was a second singer since there were no piano parts in the song. All of the students looked ecstatic that they had chosen that song and the girls cheered loudly when Matthew managed to fit in a small moment to toss both drumsticks high into the air, catching them both flawlessly as they fell back to earth.

The concert had ended in wild cheers, and the four of them declaring their band name, earning even louder cheers of approval. Alfred was very happy with their band name, it was a great choice, giving that none of them were from the same country. Since Matthew couldn't put a sticker on the school's drum set, he had placed a rather large Canadian flag sticker in the middle on the bass drum. Kiku had shown Alfred all of the tiny Japanese flag stickers he had placed on every other key on the keyboard at his house along with one on the front for everyone to see. They'd have to start using their own instruments so that their name would make more sense, Alfred would wear a shirt with the American flag on it for sure now whenever they had a concert.

Looking up, Alfred noticed that he and Francis were being dragged off by their paparazzi for interviews, Mattie and Kiku looking a bit betrayed, but followed, answering some questions that were aimed at them.

XXX

"Hey, isn't Artie supposed to be here by now?" Alfred asked, walking into the kitchen sleepily. It was the third day of summer and Arthur was supposed to be there on the second, which was yesterday. Matthew looked up from his frying eggs and bacon, a familiar sight of him with a spatula in one hand with an apron slung over his head and tied around his waist, standing over the stove like a hawk.

"Err, weren't you listening to Francis last night? His flight's being delayed due to bad weather, London doesn't exactly have the best weather over there, so he might not be able to get here today either, maybe tomorrow," flipping the eggs and soon after, the bacon, Matthew continued. "It's possible it might be delayed for a while you know, I heard that their weather's been pretty bad lately, but don't worry, he'll be here probably by next Monday," his cell phone rang and Matthew answered it, brightening up at Francis's voice.

"Hey guys, the _People _magazine err…people…want us to go over for a photo shoot," came Francis's excited voice after he and Matthew exchanged greetings. Matthew brightened up at the sound of that, a smile breaking loose, Alfred poking at the sizzling eggs with a fork before snatching a piece of bacon that was ready, letting it cool down before stuffing it greedily into his mouth.

Though, after hearing why Matthew looked excited, Alfred's excitement sky rocketed as well, dragging Matthew off to Francis's house, making sure to turn off the stove first. The photo shoot would be in three hours Francis had told Matthew, who had told Alfred as they entered Alfred's broken down pick-up truck. It took a while for Matthew to notice that he was still in the apron and still held the spatula in his hand. Blushing, he untied the apron and threw it into the back seat after carefully finding a clean place (if one could call it clean) to set the spatula down.

XXX

Matthew loved the picture even though he was the smallest in the picture. They had been given a copy of the photo out of generosity and were guaranteed to be the first to get the magazine, again, out of generosity.

In the photo, on a white canvas, Alfred was crouched down into a surfer's position, one hand and one leg close to the camera to add effect, his image in the lower right corner, though basically covering almost half of the photo. Francis as a tad farther back, a large grin on his face while flashing the 'peace' sign, his knees slightly bent, making him lean forward and his other arm, slightly bent at the elbow, was held to his side, he was on the far right side of the photo. Kiku was to Francis's right (the left when looking at the photo), his arms crossed coolly, paired with a sweet smile. Matthew was to Kiku's right as well (left), ducking down, his head appearing below Alfred's arm, the one that wasn't closest to the camera, one hand over his eyes in the act of looking in the direction of the sun, his hand acting like a visor. Below them were their shadows, though impossibly fuzzy due to Photoshoping, stretched behind them, looking like they'd be going off in the distance forever.

Matthew, Alfred, Francis and Kiku had all taken turns gaping at the photo, wondering if it was actually themselves they were looking at.

"Dude…I look SO bad a_ss_ in this!" Alfred piped, his smile growing by the second. He had been staring at the photo so long Francis had lost his patience and snatched it from the American's hands, earning an irritated 'hey!' from Alfred. Kiku had to agree, Alfred looked rather cool in the picture, but he liked the calm demeanor he himself had displayed. "Man, I can't wait to see this in the magazine! And then I'll show Artie!" Alfred fell into a ramble, the other three deciding to tune him out.

XXXX

**Moi – Me**

**Je t'aime bien plus que leur – I like you more than them**

**Moi aussi – me too**

**Arigato – Thank you**

**Uh, anything else?**

**Mm hm, yay, got this chapter done. Lol, it's kinda long, especially for me, but I'm trying to work on making chapters a tad longer than three pages (Microsoft Word). So yeah, Mattie's mom is gonna become their manager just so you know, I might forget that tid bit, so remind me if I do next chapter, because she's supposed to come home next chapter and Arthur might arrive in the middle or end of next chapter too. Sorry if you were hoping for him to appear in this one, I just couldn't fit him in. I delayed his flight for a reason too, it was for Alfred's fame to get very close to full blown, so I could put the drama genre to good use :) Oh, and if you guys know any stories that have good explanations of fame and what not, could you show me them? I need to read a few and can't seem to find any at the moment. So other than that, please review, we all know that it's motivation and peace out my friends.**


	4. Chapter 4

** Daaw, thanks a bunch guys for the nice reviews :D I love you all so much :) Thanks again for faving and alerting too, you guys are all so great. **

**HunterWindstalker: Lol, I'm thinking of him being a regular guitarist :P**

**Well, I have nothing else to say, so enjoy.**

**XXXX**

"Mom wants to be our manager," looking up at Matthew, Alfred tore his attention away from the video game Kiku had let him borrow for the week. Matthew stood at the door, his cellular in his hand.

"That's awesome Mattie!" Alfred smiled, giving his relative a thumbs up. Matthew nodded his head, pressing the phone back to his ear to continue his conversation with his mother who was coming home the next day. She had called just before the flight would take off, so she was expected to get home around breakfast or lunch tomorrow. Alfred returned immediately to his video game, thumbs moving expertly on the buttons on the controller he was holding.

Matthew's mother was two years younger than Alfred's mother, she was tall, skinny and belonged on a runway, but had never set foot on one in her whole life. Her hair was very wavy, a trait Matthew had slightly inherited. Seven months before their father had married Alfred's mother, he and Matthew's mother had been dating for quite some time, and one day, she had found out that she was pregnant. Their father had left her right after that, smashing another woman, Alfred's mother, a few weeks later, which explained why both of their birthdays were so close together. Whenever Matthew's mother saw their father, she would tear up and Matthew would have to go off to comfort her, giving that the sight of Alfred might make her upset.

Alfred truthfully liked her a bit more than his own mother, being one of the nicest women he'd ever met. Don't get him wrong, he loved his mother, he was just fond of Matthew's mother and every now and then wished that she was his mother. Alfred had inherited almost nothing from his mother except for his sky blue eyes, while Matthew's were a dark blue and one could mistake them for violet. She worked for a high end designer company but wasn't as busy as their father, being a fireman and all.

Looking up at the digital clock sitting on the small dresser next to the bed, Alfred noticed that he had been playing the game for five hours. Sighing, he promised himself to turn it off at the next save point, though he doubted that he'd keep that promise to himself. He'd been promising himself that three hours ago, Mattie would just have to drag him off of it if he had any hopes of quitting any time soon.

Matthew sat in the stool that was placed behind the front of his drum set, twirling the sticks around to keep himself preoccupied. He didn't feel like playing anything, though he knew that he should be playing for up to an hour each day. Sometimes before his practices, he'd call Francis and make sure he had gotten his hour of practice in as well, not wanting the French teen to get dull even though it was only for a day. Aggravated, Matthew tapped one stick on the snare drum a few times before turning on his iPod, shuffling his music and played along to the songs for about ten minutes.

Sighing, Matthew abruptly stopped his drum beating, knowing that Alfred would never get off of his game if he didn't drag him off of it soon. Standing up from the stool and figuring that he wasn't procrastinating, just worrying about Alfred, Matthew left his room. He opened the door to the guest room, said nothing and dragged Alfred, literally, away from the game that he had just as mutely, turned off, earning protests as he did so. It was almost routine with how much Alfred came over now and how often Kiku let the boy borrow his games. Matthew would have to tell the pianist that he shouldn't let Alfred borrow his games any more since they were rotting the boy's brain.

"I'm going to make lunch, don't you dare go up into the guest room or else I'll have to make Arthur feed you everything he cooks once he gets here," his threat worked, for Alfred cowered in his seat at the dining table, tapping his fingers on the surface to a beat only he heard. Nodding his head at his small triumph, Matthew took out a bowl, figuring that grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup would be a reasonable lunch for the day.

"Dude, we should be throwing parties if we're this famous, I'm kinda bored," looking up from the sizzling bread and cheese, all Matthew could do was cock an eyebrow at his relative, sometimes he doubted that they were, in the slightest, related.

"Alfred, I don't think we should, it'd trash my house and I don't think your parents would approve," Matthew answered and returned to making lunch. He knew that Alfred was pouting right about now, giving that he heard the other teen huff a little overdramatically before returning to drumming his fingertips on the surface of the table. Going over to the cabinets, Matthew extracted a can of tomato soup, picking up a can opener on the way along with a pot that would be placed on the stove later.

"Oh come on, I know that, but we could throw 'em at Francis's place ya know? His parents are _never _home and don't even care about things like that right?"

"Alfred, they're gone because they're consultants and just because they're gone for a long time doesn't mean they don't care about Francis or their home," Matthew half scolded, pondering on whether he should smack Alfred on the head with the spatula in his hand or not. Rolling his eyes, Alfred acted like Matthew hadn't even tried to argue with him.

"Well we should still be throwing parties right? Let's invite everybody we know from school!" getting up Alfred almost left, but was sent back to his chair by the cold glare Matthew sent in his direction. When he tried, Matthew could make himself very scary. Slumping down into his seat, Alfred poked around with the fork lying in front of him, resuming to tapping his fingers once more. Sighing and shaking his head from side to side lightly, Matthew returned to the sandwiches on the stove, flipping one in the process.

They had been invited to record a few songs to put on a CD for themselves yesterday as they had left from their first photo shoot. Alfred had quickly agreed and they were given the time and location. After recording, they'd do another photo shoot for the cover and once his mother had gotten home, he'd tell Francis and Kiku that she'd be their manager, he didn't feel like calling them right now.

Once he had finished making lunch, they had eaten in silence, though Matthew had to threaten Alfred with his childhood friends' cooking once more to keep him off of the video game system for the rest of the day. Once finished with eating as well, Matthew and Alfred had gone back to the second floor to practice a bit before going off to get Alfred a new cell phone. He had lost his old one and his most recent one had gone through the wash courtesy of Alfred's forgetfulness. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much trouble since Alfred was saving up for a new one a couple of months prior, earning allowance from his parents since he didn't have a job yet.

XXX

He had spoken too soon, this wasn't too much trouble, it was a shit load of trouble. He and Alfred had been mobbed the second they set foot in the mall having briefly forgotten about their overnight rise to fame. Girls swarmed them, begging for autographs and every now and then the flash of a camera would make itself known. While this was hell for Matthew, Alfred seemed to be enjoying himself, striking a few poses for some pictures and signing whatever was given to him.

"If they ask for your number, don't tell them that you're getting a new phone," Matthew whispered into Alfred's ear, shuddering at the thought of having this huge mob follow them all the way to a T Mobile or a Best Buy. Alfred took his advice and turned down every attempt at getting his cellular number, Matthew doing the same whenever one asked for his. Matthew had stuffed his hands into his pockets and clutched his phone tightly.

The 'not telling them Alfred was getting a new phone' thing didn't exactly work either, for their large fan club had followed them all the way to the Best Buy anyways. Matthew was getting claustrophobic too with having all of the girls push up against him to get a look at Alfred.

"Although I'm enjoying this, I don't think I'll be able to get a new phone with these guys following us everywhere," Alfred mumbled into Matthew's ear as they stood at the entrance of the Best Buy, unable to get in. All Matthew could do was nod his head in agreement and sigh heavily, the excitement of being famous had just officially been killed for Matthew unless something could rekindle it, he suddenly found himself wishing that he didn't want all of this attention since it wasn't even focused on himself, but on the obnoxious boy next to him.

They had somehow gotten the staff of the Best Buy to ban all of the girls from the shop for the rest of the day to give the two look a likes a bit of air. Thanking them, Matthew and Alfred headed over to the cellular area, browsing casually and flipping a few open to get a better look at their features. Alfred ended up getting the new 3D phone Matthew didn't even know had existed up until now. But the excitement of it evaporated the minute Matthew spotted their 'fan club' maneuvering for the exit, likely to meet them outside, for the Best Buy had another exit that lead to the parking lot that the two were heading for. Grabbing Alfred's wrist, Matthew bolted for his car, tossing his half-brother into the car before circling it and jumping into the driver's seat, urging Alfred to 'hurry up and close the damn door' as he spotted the large mob exiting the building.

Luckily nobody had followed them to Francis's house, and they had lived to tell the tale, the French boy laughing so hard Matthew swore that he was going to lose all of his oxygen and die. Alfred seemed to not understand why Matthew didn't like it, but ended up shrugging it off easily, returning to his new phone. They hung out for a while, Matthew peeking out of the window in small moments of paranoia before they left officially for the day.

The next day Matthew's mom returned home, they had gone off to record a few songs and Alfred and Matthew got mobbed once more on their way home when Alfred begged to get some McDonald's. The only protection Matthew had now was from his mother who could be very intimidating when she wanted to. Despite being jetlagged, she had yelled like a champion at the teenagers that attempted to approach them, Matthew having told her to shoo them away beforehand. His mother didn't exactly enjoy yelling at others, for she was kind hearted, but it was absolutely necessary if Alfred and Matthew wanted to make it out of the restaurant alive.

It was ridiculous how even the staff were a part of their fan club, taking out their phones to snap a quick picture before letting Alfred or Matthew order anything. _This will be another story for Francis to laugh at_, was all that ran through Matthew's mind as he ordered a cheeseburger, no fries, with a small soft drink. Alfred basically had ordered half of the menu, having a lot of money left over from saving for the phone he had bought yesterday. Matthew knew that he'd have to start cooking healthy meals for Alfred now that he knew how much he ordered at a McDonald's.

XXXX

Their photo shoot for the cover of the CD would be done after the recording of the last two songs. The setting for the photo would be in a fancy looking dining room, but they would have to do anything but fancy, for fake broken plates and glasses littered the table. Matthew and Kiku didn't exactly know what to do, so Alfred and Francis were the ones with the awesome opportunity to stand on the table and pose for the cameras, all of them being told to try out plenty of different things.

When the photographers had deemed that they had enough photos to choose from, they had left for home to hang for the rest of the day, though being followed by fans and a few media groups wasn't something they had planned on dealing with on the way home. They ended up having to deal with them once they got home, Matthew's mother threatening to call the police many times before the large group left. Alfred and Francis didn't exactly help though, for all they did was encourage the press and their fans to keep coming, posing for the cameras and answering their questions enthusiastically.

"I thought that you were supposed to ignore them," Matthew grunted as he fell onto the couch in front of the television, watching it flicker to life when Alfred pressed the power button. "You guys are encouraging them," he added, feeling like he had to explain to them that they had to stop. Rolling his eyes, Alfred turned his attention to the television, snatching the remote off of the coffee table in front of them and began channel surfing until he found something interesting.

For the rest of the day, the four had enjoyed each other's company and watched television, only leaving the room to eat dinner before departing for bed at around midnight. Alfred sat in the guest room he had to share with Kiku, talking to his Japanese friend about the video game he had let him borrow a few days back, thanking him in the midst of the conversation. They stayed up and talked until two on the morning, Kiku deciding that it was late and that they had to go to sleep. Alfred wanted to stay up longer and talk some more, but decided to cave. Saying good night to each other, Kiku turned off the light since his bed was closer to the light switch and they both fell asleep.

When Alfred woke up and looked at the digital clock to his right, he noticed that he had slept through breakfast and that Kiku was already up since the bed he had slept in looked like nobody had slept in it at all, giving that the boy made his bed before leaving the room. Being less worrisome about the condition of the guest bed he had slept in, Alfred got up and did his normal morning routine. Looking at the clock once more before leaving the room, Alfred found out that Matthew should be making lunch about now and as if on cue, the smell of food reached his nose.

Sliding down the railing like he normally did whenever he stayed over at Matthew's, Alfred bumped into someone once he reached the ground, making the person fall over as he regained his balance. Alfred was about to scream about a stranger being in Mattie's house before a voice, heavy with the British accent, reached his ears.

"You could at least be a little nicer to me after not seeing you for years," it sounded irritated too. Looking down at the boy who was glaring up at him from the floor, Alfred would've recognized him even if you got rid of the eyebrows. When Arthur stood, Alfred scooped him into one of his infamous death hugs, earning a yelp of surprise as he happily greeted his best friend.

"Dude, when did you get here? I'm so happy to see ya!" Alfred smiled one of his megawatt similes for Arthur, his cheek pressed into the other boy's hair. Arthur looked irritated for a split moment before breaking into a small smile himself, the two embracing a little less violently later. Alfred would've held Arthur longer, but Francis just _had _to interrupt their reunion right about now.

"_C'est mignon_, little Artie and his Alfred," the wavy haired blond stood at the entrance to the kitchen, leaning on the wall as he spoke, a smirk set on his lips. Alfred pouted as Arthur started yelling at Francis, cheeks red and his face set in a deep scowl. Soon after, the two fell into a heated argument. Alfred, feeling abandoned, slunk into the kitchen, even though watching Francis and Arthur go at each other's throats was awesome entertainment, he had wanted their reunion to be uninterrupted.

Matthew had joined Alfred at the table, smiling at the sight, though a small hint of worry in his eyes as he watched the two rivals throw witty comments back and forth. It took a while, but Matthew managed to get Francis to stop arguing long enough to drag him out of the kitchen, giving Alfred another chance to talk with his friend. Arthur had sat himself in the seat across from Alfred's, angrily murmuring to himself before averting his attention back to his friend.

"I had a feeling that was the first thing you two would do," Alfred chuckled. The two fell into a less violent conversation than the one Arthur had just had with Francis, updating each other on how they were and what was going on in their lives. Alfred briefly forgot to ask why it had taken Arthur so long to visit and to update him on how famous he had managed to get himself in the past weeks. Arthur's accent was much thicker than it was when he had lived in the states as a child, so it took Alfred a few moments to understand a few things his friend had said, but none the less enjoyed just listening to the other talk.

"Oh, would you mind explaining why a whole bunch of people are standing outside of Matthew's home? They seemed like they were going to pounce on me any minute until Matthew's mother let me in," Arthur asked, nodding his head toward the door that allowed entrance into Matthew's home when the question was voiced. Itching at the back of his head, Alfred started to explain what had happened from the start, when Matthew had wanted to perform for school and then Alfred, Francis and Kiku had jumped in. He told him about the _People_ magazine that should be arriving any time now and about the CD they had just recorded. Arthur seemed to enjoy the stories about being mobbed and how Matthew looked like an paranoid old man in the midst of it all. Arthur seemed like he was about to say something when Francis reentered the kitchen.

"Did you two kiss yet?" Alfred watched, amused, as Arthur launched himself at Francis, yelling profusely at him, his face though, turning a lovely shade of red once more. The two fell into their second argument of the hour, Matthew watching and looking defeated as Francis and Arthur went at it on the kitchen floor before going over to start making lunch, stepping around the two on his way.

Matthew's mother had driven both Francis and Kiku back to their homes so they wouldn't get mobbed in their drive way, eyes darting back and forth as if waiting for a hoard of ninjas to jump out at any given second. Francis swore, with how she was acting, there actually was a large group of ninjas waiting to jump out and attack, but none the less, each made it home safely.

Alfred and Arthur sat in the guest room, a comfortable silence settling in between them. Alfred didn't bother to go home, for it was farther away and his parents were getting ready for vacation. He had decided to stay home, though with Matthew, for giving his status now, the thought of being home alone was kind of scary. He'd have people constantly looking in his windows in hopes of catching a glimpse of him and would never be able to step outside of his house without being jumped. He preferred to be jumped with Matthew, Francis or Kiku along with him. He still enjoyed all of the attention as long as he was having a good time. Arthur disapproved of it, but not to the extent of going off to a hotel, having voiced his concerns earlier in the kitchen that.

"Daaw, you're just jealous that you have to share me," Alfred had teased.

"Well maybe I am," was the Brit's reply and that had thrown Alfred into thinking mode. If Arthur was implying anything, he'd be kind of shocked. He had thought that Arthur would've already found a girl with how polite he seemed now, the only time he wasn't like that was, of course, around Francis. Not that he was hoping for something.

The two were currently sitting on the same bed, listening to music and flipping through a year book that dated back to when they used to attend the same school. Alfred laughed at how much acne he used to have and joked about how he now understood why others would make fun of him. Arthur had scolded him for joking about such a thing, saying that his face had looked just fine even back then, before turning the page.

With Arthur being jetlagged, Alfred was forced to let his friend go to sleep at eight after dinner had been served. He was bummed, but didn't deny Arthur his sleep and simply sat on his bed, flipping through the year book alone, Arthur on the other bed, snoozing away. He found himself watching Arthur sleep every now and then before returning to the open book in front of him.

Going onto his email to delete all of the date requests from a whole bunch of people he didn't even know was something he'd have to get used to. Alfred only opened the emails of those he knew now. One was from Matthew who had probably been too lazy to go upstairs to tell him and just emailed the news. They had another photo shoot on Wednesday for another magazine and had been invited for an interview on television. Alfred replied with a '_cool, can't wait :)_' before logging off, shutting the laptop and placing it on the desk. He would most definitely drag Arthur off to both.

XXXX

**C'est mignon – How cute**

**Alright, here's another chapter. I'm surprised at how fast I'm updating this, do you want me to slow down or is it just fine? Well, after that, all I can say is: Yahoo, Artie's here! :D Thanks again for the reviews guys, it makes me happy to know at least someone's interested in this. Please review once more, it's motivation guys. Peace out my friends. **


	5. Chapter 5

** Hi guys, here's chapter five :) I'm so glad I've made it this far and am still going full steam ahead and I hope you guys stick with me. Was so busy yesterday :P Had church and then immediately went off to go shoe shopping for my little brother and ended getting myself a new pair of Crocs, had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wing and had to deal with a whole bunch of excited American football fans and then went to Target. Then I had to go to my Cell Group which is something our church does, so I didn't get home until 8:00 and then I stayed up 'til three in the morning on a school day. I was so tired during school :P Ouch, I've got a blister on the ball of my right foot and it itches/hurts. :(**

**Well thanks again for all of the reviews guys, I really appreciate it, I wish I could say thank you one hundred times over, but that would be a waste of space now would it? So without further ado, enjoy this chapter.**

**XXXX**

Francis had called Alfred an hour after breakfast, asking for just him to meet him at a restaurant in the city. When Alfred had arrived, he was met by western country music being played so loud he could feel the bass vibrate his whole body. There was a dance floor in the middle of all of the tables which were raised on a platform that stretched all the way around the open space for those who didn't feel like dancing.

"Hey, heard you enjoyed this kind of music _mon ami_," the wavy haired blond announced his presence with that statement, sauntering over to him with two girls, probably the ages of seventeen or eighteen, at each side of him. "Thought I'd treat you to a celebration for becoming so famous," he continued, Alfred smiling broadly.

"If it means I can dance with hot chicks, then sure man," Francis laughed and nodded his head towards the dance floor which was currently occupied with a large group of people who were line dancing, and told the American to join them. Alfred nodded, but went off to get a coke first, a little surprised that he hadn't been mobbed yet, but also slightly glad that he hadn't been mobbed yet. It didn't take him long to finish his drink though, for the excitement of getting down in the dance pit was killing him.

Jumping over the railing, Alfred joined the large group, he was a good dancer as you'd expect, having a few girls attempt to get close to him. He knew the moves to almost every single song, courtesy of his father. He was soon recognized though, teenagers swooning over him as he danced alongside a girl, the music making it all the more energetic. Alfred was more than happy when Fake I.D. by Big & Rich came on, snatching a hat off of someone's head and placing it on his head in one smooth motion, winking at a group of girls up in the dining area.

As a kid, he'd listen to western country music with his dad, for the man originally came from Alabama. He had taught him a few dance moves, but hadn't had any more time when he became a fire fighter. On a rare occasion, Alfred would sit in his room alone, play some western country music on his iPod, bringing the volume up to an unnecessary level and dance alone. He soon figured, that doing it with other people, was much more fun. He had taught Matthew a few routines and his Canadian half-brother had thought about going down to some restaurants like this. Maybe he'd take Mattie here sometime later.

"Francis, why don't you come down here?" Alfred asked, leaning on the railing that separated the 'dance pit' from the dining area, looking up at the French boy because of the elevation of the dining area. "Can't dance? Why'd you even choose this place then?" Alfred continued, tipping the hat up a bit so he could get a better look of his band mate. Francis laughed again at his friend and dropped a fry on Alfred's head, leaning on the railing in the process.

"Dear _Matthieu_ told me to treat you to something nice_ maintenant que vous __ê__tes c__é__l__è__bre_. I don't really think he was being serious, but I thought that it'd be fun to comeanyways, you were wining about not having parties or fun no? Plus, I don't do American dances," the French boy answered, returning to his suave talking with the two girls he had walked up to Alfred with. Snorting and uttering something along the lines of _party pooper_, Alfred jumped back in, getting extremely close to one girl as he did so, winking at her as well.

XXX

"Where is Alfred?" Kiku asked, entering Matthew's house as said boy stepped aside to let the other do so. Matthew closed the door as Kiku took his shoes off and placed them on a shoe rack, heading for the living room and sitting on the couch, posture basically perfect.

"I'm not sure, he just ran off," Matthew answered, sitting down next to the Japanese boy, slouching unlike the pianist. "Francis isn't at his house either, just tried to call, he didn't answer," the Canadian continued, rubbing his chin with his index finger once before leaning back in the couch with a sigh. "Arthur's still jetlagged, so he's sleeping in the guest room, so it's kinda boring here ya know?" Kiku nodded in agreement.

"Although, I enjoy the tranquility, it keeps my mind clear," Kiku remarked, staring at nothing in particular. The two sat in a comfortable silence, a car going by every now and then, but other than that, no other noise was made. Sighing mentally, Matthew closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Even though he didn't approve of it, Alfred was right, with nothing to do but sit there and practice, life was kind of boring even if they were famous. Maybe he should start throwing parties to pass the time…

_ No bad thoughts Mattie, parties usually end in sex, drunk people and a messy aftermath_, Matthew scolded himself for even considering such a thing. Ever since Arthur arrived yesterday, Alfred had become a ball of endless energy, excitement and happiness fueling him. Matthew hoped that whatever poor soul had to deal with Alfred right now would be spared. Taking out his cell phone, Matthew pondered calling Alfred this time, hoping that he'd get an answer to where he and Francis were. Nodding to himself slightly, Matthew began tapping in Alfred's new number, having to pause in between numbers to recall others.

Then the worst thing happened-a phone, likely Alfred's new one, began playing _O Canada_, sitting on the coffee table in front of him, hidden under a few magazines. Furrowing his eyebrows, Matthew removed the magazines to reveal that Alfred had left his new cellular at his house. Slapping his phone shut in frustration, Matthew stuffed it back into his pocket, huffing irritably. Kiku sent him a confused look, but didn't question him.

He tried to call Francis again ten minutes later, praying that the other would pick up this time. Unfortunately, he was brought, once more, to the French boy's voice mail. Sighing, Matthew mumbled incoherently to Kiku before standing up to get something to nibble on. When Matthew was upset, he'd eat something in an attempt to take his mind off of the subject, it was something Alfred had pointed out earlier that school year, for the first year of high school had totally stressed him out. Having grabbed his iPod on the way, Matthew turned it on, cranking up the volume loud enough to drown out the outside world and began his imaginary drum playing.

XXX

"Dude, I think I forgot my phone back at Mattie's," looking down, Francis watched Alfred try to yell over the music while fending off girls that begged to dance with him or have him autograph something. Chuckling at the poor boy, Francis tossed his cell phone down into Alfred's unsuspecting hands.

"Use mine."

"I don't need to call anybody, I just noticed that I left mine at Mattie's," Alfred shook his head, handing the phone back up to Francis who took it back and pocketed the object.

"Then why'd you tell me?" the teen questioned, cocking an eyebrow at the American's antics. Alfred could be very weird sometimes, such as now, just brining up something that probably didn't need to be shared unless he actually needed to call someone. Although he was charming and nice, Alfred was a total ditz. He was oblivious and couldn't read the atmosphere no matter how hard he tried if he even did so, Francis doubted that though. Someone could be very angry at him and he'd just pat their shoulder and invite them to his house with a huge, don't forget oblivious, smile plastered to his face.

"Uh…I don't know," yep, a total ditz. Waving the boy off, Francis once again returned to the two women he had met and flirted with. Alfred scratched at his head in confusion before placing the cowboy hat back on his head, while trying to avoid some girls that were yanking on his arms in an attempt to get him to join them on the dance floor so they could boast that they'd danced with Alfred F. Jones.

Smiling at them, he did a fancy twirl before rejoining the other dancing teenagers, the girls happily invading his personal space. Man, he couldn't wait for his birthday, he would throw a party even bigger than this one, which was pretty big mind you, and even better, it was on the fourth of July, so he'd light as many fireworks as he wanted. Of course he'd help arrange a party for Matthew's birthday as well, with it being on July first and all, but that was beside the point. He'd blast music so loud that the police would probably have to yell at them to turn it down and he'd invite everyone which was anyone.

Alfred didn't know how long he had danced and sang, but by the end of it all, he was downright surrounded by people, all wanting to get at the overnight sensation. Francis was also surrounded, though he was doing a better job at avoiding them, for he wasn't encouraging anything while Alfred was basically saying _'Keep it coming_'. It took a while, but eventually he and Francis were outside of the restaurant, Alfred still full of energy and excitement.

"Man, that was amazing, we should do things like this more often, it's really fun," Alfred laughed, running a hand through his sweaty locks, having abandoned the cowboy hat a long time ago. "Thanks for doing this bro," he continued, clapping Francis on the shoulder before stuffing his hands into his pockets. It was four, four more hours until Matthew made dinner.

"Eh, no problem, but next time, let's go somewhere more of my taste," Francis answered. The two walked casually to Francis's car, Alfred jumping into the passenger's seat as Francis took the driver's. While Alfred was stuck with a rusty GMC, Francis had a fancy French car that Alfred didn't have the name of.

As they stepped into Matthew's house without knocking or ringing the door bell, they were met by a distressed looking Matthew who seemed like his original intentions were to go to the kitchen. The boy didn't recognize them at first, screaming _'Stranger!'_ at the top of his lungs before cutting himself off abruptly as his brain processed who the two 'strangers' were. Alfred was currently laughing his ass off while Francis tried to soothe the poor, panicked boy. It seemed to be a trait Alfred's family tree shared—screaming stranger at the top of their if they didn't recognize someone and were shocked that they were there

"I was worried you two! Please tell me where you're going beforehand from now on," Matthew almost wailed, looking like he would punch Alfred for laughing any second now. Kiku had an expression of minor concern on his face, but didn't seem as shaken as Matthew was. Alfred headed immediately for the guest room as Francis continued to calm Matthew.

"Do not worry _mon ami_, I just took Alfred out to a restaurant that I knew he'd enjoy, I'll tell you where we're going next time," Francis reassured, smiling as he pat the boy on the back. Matthew face contorted into a pout for a split second before a small smile crept onto his features. Taking the boys hand once more, Francis placed a delicate kiss on his palm this time before walking off, leaving Matthew alone as his face quickly began to heat up once more.

"_M-merci_…"

Alfred entered the guest room and found Arthur dead asleep on the bed closest to the door. Smiling to himself, Alfred walked over to his bed, searching for his cellular which Matthew currently held hostage unbeknownst to the American. He fumbled around, searching under the bed and in the drawer on the nightstand in between the two beds before leaving the room to ask Matthew if he saw his phone that was capable of the third dimension, looking back at Arthur once more before officially leaving.

He found Matthew standing at the entrance, face red and one of his hands slightly raised palm up. He almost had to wave his hand in front of his half-brother's face to get his attention, but managed to catch his attention by approaching him and raising his arm to wave his hand in front of his half-brother's face. Matthew apologized and snapped out of his trance, the redness, though, failing to leave his cheeks.

"Where's my phone?"

"Do you promise to tell me where you go before you leave from now on?" Matthew raised a skeptical eyebrow, stuffing his hands in his pockets, indicating that his phone was most likely in them.

"Dude, fine, you're not my mother, now give me my phone," Alfred almost demanded, rolling his eyes in the process of answering his Canadian half-brother. Matthew continued to look skeptical before hesitatingly handing the phone back to its owner. Alfred took the phone away from Matthew's custody and pocketed it, halfheartedly thanking him as he turned on his heel to get something to eat since dinner wasn't in three hours.

Matthew watched his relative leave and sighed in a defeated manor, shaking his head from side to side slowly as he did before going off in the kitchen as well, pondering on what he should make for dinner. He also thought about what he'd do if Francis and Kiku were also staying over, Kiku would have to share the guest bed with Alfred and there was no way Arthur and Francis would share a bed. When the Brit woke up, he'd probably accuse the other of attempted sexual harassment and likely would murder Francis in the process. That left sleeping on the floor, or sharing a bed with Matthew since the thought of Alfred and Francis sharing a bed was just flat out weird. The couch was also a no-go giving that he'd be a bad host for making his guest sleep on the couch. Francis would likely have to share the bed with Matthew...that got his face red once more.

"Are you running a fever dude? You've been turning red quite a bit lately," a concerned voice made itself known. Looking up from his socked feet, Matthew lightly glared at Alfred who was looking at him, not a hint of concern present in his voice even though he had pointed that out. Waving it off like a fly buzzing around his head, Matthew searched the cupboards for something he could make for dinner. He liked to plan ahead of time so dinner wouldn't be delayed.

Deciding on making spaghetti, Matthew took out the necessary items to make said dish and placed them all next to the stove, all to be used within an hour and a half.

"Francis, are you staying for dinner? We also have to figure out sleeping arrangements if you are and I'm not letting you sleep on the couch," Matthew asked the other as he lounged on the couch, watching a television show. "Oh, and we've got a photo shoot tomorrow," he added quickly before the French teen could answer his earlier question.

"Yes I am staying over, folks have been arguing lately," Francis answered, waving his hand in the air much like Matthew had done to Alfred not too long ago. It kind of hurt to have the other treat him like that, but figured that he was just tired from whatever he and Alfred had done at that restaurant. Though, he perked up at the arguing parents' part. It was no fun when parents argued, though Matthew didn't know that first hand, he had heard so from some kids in his class who had experienced divorcing parents.

"Uh…may I ask that you're okay? You know, with the parents and all…"

"_Oui_, I am fine just a little worried," Francis looked up at Matthew this time and smiled at him, flashing his pearly whites. Feeling the warmth return to his face, Matthew quickly turned and uttered a quick '_okay_' before returning to the kitchen to sit at the dining table and just think.

Even though his mother was perfectly capable of cooking meals for them, Matthew had taken over that job, for he enjoyed the culinary hobby. Every now and then she'd make something and she was an excellent cook, Matthew wanting to improve, had taken over the job. He tried to make something different every time, preferring variety unlike some who ended up with the same old cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and meatloaf for dinner, not that he was being mean or anything.

Alfred on the other hand, couldn't cook, and if he could, would live solely off of McDonald's. It was gross how much the boy could pig out on such greasy foods, ordering basically half of the menu. Matthew was surprised at how Alfred could keep himself so thin even after consuming all of that grease.

Sighing, he wondered where his mom was. She had gone out after lunch to arrange the photo shoot and hadn't come back since. He hoped that she was okay, she didn't exactly give him the estimated time she'd return home, so he couldn't help but worry.

Matthew had forced the task of waking up Arthur for dinner upon Alfred. That's how he found himself staring down once more at his sleeping childhood friend, just marveling at the sight with a small smile tugging at his lips. He didn't want to wake the other up just because of how peaceful he looked, the other reason being that Arthur was probably one to be cranky when awoken unnaturally…well, he was cranky in general, but you get the idea. Shaking the Brit's shoulder lightly, Alfred whispered his name a few times, earning a grumble, Arthur swatting at the hand on his shoulder before rolling over. Pouting slightly at his failure, Alfred grasped both of Arthur's shoulders and began shaking the other vigorously, yelling his name loudly this time.

Waking up with a start, Arthur jerked foreword, smashing his head against Alfred's as he did so. Alfred fell back, bringing Arthur and the covers with him to the carpeted floor. The two writhed in pain for a short moment before slowly calming down and noticing their position. Alfred was on his back, Arthur pressed flush against him, his head resting on his chest while the blankets had fallen over their waists. They were so happy that Francis hadn't walked in on that scene.

It took them a moment to untangle themselves from the blankets and each other before sitting on the floor, glancing at everything but each other, faces beet red. Arthur had planned on murdering whoever had dared wake him up, but after that moment, he didn't have the heart to yell heatedly at the American.

Francis watched the two childhood friends at the dinner table with a critical eye, wondering what he had missed, for the two never talked to each other, none the less spared a glance to the other. It was funny, but Matthew seemed to be doing the same thing to him, so he didn't feel like pointing it out at the moment, maybe later. Maybe he'd suggest to Alfred that he should take Arthur line dancing sometime since Alfred seemed to be so good at it. Francis already knew that Arthur hated loud music like how it was played at that restaurant, so that made it better. He enjoyed annoying the short fused Brit.

Arthur had gone straight back to sleep after dinner, all four members of _The United Nations _watching movies, choosing from Matthew's enormous movie selection. It ranged from Disney movies to things like Grown Ups and Marley & Me. Alfred, being, well…Alfred, chose a horror movie that he and Matthew freaked out to, hugging each other rather comically as they watched the movie with wide eyes, Matthew probably wondering why he even owned such a film. Then they chose a romantic comedy to enlighten the mood. The two immediately calmed down at the first good part of the movie, laughing at the scene. Kiku had brought some of his anime shows, popping in a disk. Francis wasn't really interested in it, but Matthew and Alfred were so absorbed, he swore that Kiku had just inserted a disc that was capable of hypnotism.

It soon became late at night, though not quite midnight when Kiku decided to go to sleep, having decided to sleep on the floor in the guest room. Matthew had protested Kiku's choice, but the Japanese boy assured him that he was completely fine with sleeping on the floor. The Canadian seemed to be dreading the moment he would have to go to sleep, fiddling with his thumbs and turning red every now and then. Alfred insisted that they watch another horror movie before Francis forced the other to pick something that didn't associate with ghosts and the such.

XXXX

**Maintenant que vous ****ê****tes c****é****l****è****bre – Now that you're famous**

**Mon ami – My friend**

**Merci – Thanks/Thank you**

**Oui – Yes**

** Alright guys, here's the fifth chapter. Hope you liked it, this was just a lazy one, but thing will probably pick up a bit next chapter since it's gonna cover a photo shoot. Hey, at least Alfred got his first party kind of thing right? Oh well, please review it's great to hear what you guys think :) Peace out my friends.**


	6. Chapter 6

** Hey guys, I'm back :) Lol, I can't believe that I started another story when this one's just starting. Check it out if you want to it's called Flying's His Thing, it's another Hetalia, US x UK thing. **

** So yeah, I'm happy for all of the reviews guys. You rock :D Enjoy.**

**XXXX**

Arthur didn't expect to wake up to total chaos. He expected to have Alfred dead asleep in the other guest bed to his side and probably being the first one up. Alfred had shaken his awake much like he had done to wake Arthur for dinner, without the awkward moment. Alfred nagged him to hurry up as he brushed his teeth and did his morning routine, it was getting irritating until Matthew burst in, even more energized than Alfred, dragging Alfred and Arthur, who was half done with brushing his teeth, out the door and into the kitchen.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Arthur yelled, stilling all of the chaos and silencing everyone and thing. He furrowed his eyebrows and glared menacingly at everyone, Kiku being the only one that hadn't caused him any trouble that morning.

"We've got a photo shoot in half an hour, so let's hurry up now!" Matthew announced-jumpstarting the chaos once more. Arthur stared in disbelief before being dragged off into Alfred's truck by the collar of his shirt, screaming profanities at the top of his lungs. Getting tossed into what was the driver's seat in England, Arthur was about to whack Alfred upside the head when the American stopped him by flooring the gas pedal.

He swore, he'd have a heart attack if his dense friend wouldn't slow down any time soon. Luckily, a patrolling police car made Alfred slow down before they could confirm that he was speeding. Arthur then began yelling at Alfred about how he could've injured them badly and how he hadn't even gotten his seat belt on yet. Alfred just rolled down the windows even further and played his music too loudly, the bass vibrating the whole truck.

Francis, Matthew and Kiku were in Francis's fancy car behind them, Francis laughing so hard Matthew considered forcing the guy to get out and switch seats with him. Since both Alfred and Francis had their windows down, you could hear Arthur yelling at Alfred probably three cars away. Matthew found some humor in it, but not enough to laugh out loud. Then when the loud music started playing, Matthew started to feel sorry for the Brit in front of them.

"He's going to lose his hearing by the end of the day," Francis chuckled. Whether he was talking about Arthur or Alfred, Matthew didn't exactly care, covering his ears in hopes of protecting his own hearing from the loud music in front of them. Even though their concerts were pretty damn loud, Matthew was trying to avoid loud noises now to lessen his soon to be declining hearing. Kiku remained silent in the back seat.

Arthur fell out of Alfred's rusty pickup, face planting into the hood of Francis's car as it pulled up and parked behind them. Flinching at the action, Matthew opened the passenger's door and looked down at Arthur who was mumbling angrily to himself, rubbing his now throbbing forehead, though remaining on the hood of the French car. Approaching Alfred's childhood friend, Matthew tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, hoping that he hadn't harmed himself extensively.

"Are you okay?" Matthew asked, Arthur seeming to have not heard him, for he just continued to seethe on Francis's car. Francis stepped out and hauled the teen off of his car, complaining about how he had purposely put a dent into the hood even though it was barely visible. Matthew watched the two argue, Arthur yelling at Francis louder than necessary. Alfred then jumped out of his truck and approached his band mates and best friend.

"Why the bloody hell am I even you friend?" Arthur complained, narrowing his eyes at Alfred who simply smiled sheepishly and itched at the back of his head, shrugging his shoulders.

"'Cause I'm just so amazing," Alfred grinned cheekily, making Arthur's temper flare. Matthew soon found himself, Kiku and Francis restraining Arthur from killing Alfred violently. After that hectic exchange, they entered the building the photo shoot was at.

"Am I even allowed to be here with you guys?" Arthur asked as the group approached the building.

"Sure, and if they try to kick you out, I'll fight for ya all the way," Alfred flashed his megawatt smile, though his answer didn't go over Arthur's head so easily, the Brit's cheeks turning red just enough for Francis to notice and poke around with. The two fell into another heated argument, each being right up in the other's face. Matthew and Alfred gave each other slightly distressed looks (although Alfred's had a little bit of amusement in it), before prying the two arguing teens apart, Arthur demanding that he be released. "Jeez, what the hell is wrong with you two, can't we all be friends?"

"I'll never be _friends _with that bloody _frog_," the Brit barked, ceasing his struggling to glare at Francis. When the two were finally unhanded, they crossed their arms stubbornly and refused to look at the other. Alfred murmured something along the lines of the two acting like little kids to Matthew and Kiku. Matthew just rolled his eyes and Kiku seemed unresponsive. When they entered the building, they were met by Matthew's mother, or, their manager. She smiled at them and led the group into a different room where they'd be photographed. Alfred smiled and waved at the cameras, striking a few poses, Francis doing the same, though less frequently. Kiku ignored all of the commotion and Arthur and Matthew ducked down in an attempt to stay away from it all.

"Who's this?" one of the reporters asked, motioning to the shaggy blond who was currently sending his best death glare at the flashing lights of the cameras.

"None other than my bestest friend in the whole world!" Alfred smiled widely, grabbing Arthur and dragging him into a one armed hug. The Brit protested loudly as the number of flashing increased. "Smile Arty!"

Matthew stared in disbelief at the screen of his laptop. He didn't remember that happening. There, on the news area of Yahoo!, was Arthur and Alfred, Alfred flashing his megawatt smile and Arthur wearing a very strained smile, looking like he'd kill Alfred any second. It was what the title of the article, that shocked him.

_** Overnight Sensation, Alfred F. Jones Just Might Be Gay**_

Those bastards were probably twisting whatever Alfred had told them. Damn it, never trust the media, they're just a whole bunch of jack asses. Matthew slammed his laptop shut, not even bothering to exit out of Internet Explorer since he was planning on showing the article to Alfred. He wasn't so sure about showing it to Arthur though, the guy would probably go berserk. Tucking his laptop under his armpit, Matthew left his room and entered the guest room, Alfred sitting on the bed, jamming away at a video game controller, Arthur asleep on the bed closest to the door.

"Alfred…you won't believe what they're saying about you and Arthur…" Matthew's voice was just above a whisper, though his voice normally was just above a whisper, it was a little quieter than normal. Alfred didn't hear him, all of his senses zeroed on the game. "Alfred…" Matthew started again, a little louder this time in hopes of catching his half-brother's attention without waking up the sleeping beast behind him. Matthew ended up having to tap the American's shoulder, making the singer jump.

"Oh, hey Mattie, jeez, you scared me," Alfred half laughed, pausing his game and giving his half-brother probably less than half of his attention. "What did you say?"

"The media…you won't believe what they're saying about you and Arthur," Matthew repeated his earlier statement, gripping the folded laptop that was secured under his armpit. Wherever the other sixty percent of Alfred's attention was, was now added to the forty he was devoting to Matthew. He didn't have to say anything for Matthew to know that he was curious, for his expression said it all. With a little hesitation, Matthew opened his laptop which took a second to boot up before the screen flickered to life. The Canadian watched as Alfred's eyes moved back and forth, reading the text in front of him, the shock setting in the more he took in. "Just try not to wake—"

"HOLY SHIT DUDE, WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY SAYING?" Alfred wailed, making Matthew cringe at the angry shout from Arthur as he was awoken. Alfred began talking a mile a minute, rambling on about how he was straight or probably a little bisexual, but not gay. Now the Canadian felt bad for his American relative, for the rage from Arthur was soon directed at Alfred with a loud demand for the 'bloody git' to 'shut the fucking hell up'. Alfred did so, but refused to look at his best friend who was clenching and unclenching his fists, wondering if he should punch Alfred right on the spot.

"Now, _please_, tell me without shouting _why_ exactly you're yelling," Arthur barked. Alfred remained silent this time, looking like for once in his life, he was thinking over something seriously. Arthur narrowed his eyes in a warning, making Alfred fall into his habit of twiddling with his thumbs. He knew he'd be blamed for all of this because he had forced Arthur into all of this.

"U-uh, yesterday…uh…um…Mattie?" shit. Matthew sent Alfred a dirty look, not liking that Alfred had forced the task of explaining such a thing to his irritable friend. Praying to whatever God was up there, Matthew angled his laptop so Arthur could see the text. Matthew braced himself for an outraged freak out, but it never came. Arthur simply huffed and flopped back into his bed, pulling the covers over himself.

"Well that was less dramatic than your reaction," Matthew muttered just quiet enough for his relative to hear, but not Arthur. Alfred didn't answer, but numbly returned to his game. Matthew took that this was his cue to leave and did so, closing his laptop as he went out the door.

The next morning, when Arthur checked his email, missed calls and new text messages. Apparently, he had been assaulted overnight by about a thousand people he didn't even know. Turns out he would've figured out about people believing that Alfred was gay sooner or later with all of the messages he had gotten. He was surprised that they had even managed to get ahold of his cellular number, but hey, American's are crazy.

The only two he replied to were from his parents. He wasn't sure how they had heard of this either, but they had their resources he guessed. It had taken an hour to delete literally over one thousand texts, calls and emails. Seems like Alfred turned out to be more popular than Arthur originally assumed, he had thought that Alfred was a small-time celebrity that would just blow over by the end of the year, but apparently not.

Alfred was dead asleep, snoring rather loudly by the time Matthew quietly announced that breakfast was ready. Getting out of bed and starting his morning routine, it took almost twice as long than on a normal day. He was thinking excessively, which was creating a headache and he couldn't stop zoning out into nothing. Two completely opposite things happening at the same time. It was stressful.

Making his way down the small flight of stairs, Arthur turned and entered the small kitchen, spotting Matthew's mother who was currently finishing her breakfast. She sent him a sympathetic look, probably having heard about the news last night via her son. Smiling halfheartedly at her, Arthur plopped down into his seat, grabbing a plate on the way and pulling two pancakes onto his plate with a fork. Seems like Matthew got lazy with breakfast this morning.

When Alfred awoke, he had briefly forgotten about the news Matthew had brought him last night. Alfred almost frolicked through his morning routine, once done sliding down the railing like he always did in the morning. Entering the kitchen with a dramatic slide across the glossy floor, his socks helping that out, Alfred merrily pulled a seat out and sat down. Grabbing more pancakes than necessary and dumping more syrup on them than necessary, Alfred began humming absentmindedly to himself.

"Hey Artie, Francis showed me this kick ass restaurant yesterday, wanna come?" Alfred enthusiastically offered, oblivious to how much it sounded like a date to Matthew, his mother and Arthur since he was briefly brain farting on last night's events. Arthur's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, glaring into his glass of milk, not giving the American a verbal answer.

"Uh…Alfred, last night…?" Matthew tried to jog his memory, trailing off though in hopes that he wouldn't have to say it. Alfred sent his Canadian half-brother a confused look before it dawned on him oh so slowly. The awkwardness of it all hit him like a wrecking ball though, the air around them suddenly turning so tense you could probably feel it by waving your hand around. There was a horrible silence, nobody daring to speak. Matthew's mother excused herself a little later, uttering that they had to schedule the interview that was going to happen in two days.

"Do you still want to come with me?" Alfred smiled awkwardly. He was definitely going back there. The shock on both of their faces was almost comical, but he didn't laugh at it.

"U-uh…sure…" was Arthur's nervous reply. Matthew looked even more shocked and if something else unexpected happened, the poor boy would probably faint right on the spot. They continued with their breakfast, Alfred announcing that they'd be off at the restaurant for dinner to Matthew.

XXXX

**Sorry if there are mistakes, I have not proof read this and sorry if it's 1,000 words short :( The 'date' is gonna be in the next chapter though, so there's something to look forward to :) Hope to hear your thoughts. Please review. Peace out my friends :)**


	7. Chapter 7

** Hey guys, sorry for the wait, was very busy over the weekend and then had to update something else yesterday and it was Halloween, plus it was late. So yeah, this is my first chance at getting the seventh chapter up other than yesterday, but chose to update 'Flying's His Thing' instead of this. So yeah, hope none of you have lost interest or anything.**

**Enjoy :)**

**XXXX**

"All I have to warn you about is loud country music," Alfred announced as he backed out of the drive way to Matthew's house. Arthur pulled the seat belt over his chest and buckled it, straightening himself out after doing so.

"You should know that I don't fancy loud music Alfred," Arthur sighed, though showed no intentions of leaving the vehicle. Alfred didn't answer, driving down the road, eye glued to it. Arthur got himself comfortable before looking out the window, watching the scenery go by, having not been in America for a while. Some things he could vaguely remember, but other than that, the place had been updated a tad here and there just enough to make it slightly foreign to the visiting Brit.

He remembered how teenage girls at the airport cooed over his accent once he had stepped inside, being surrounded. He had gotten irritated and called Matthew to get Alfred to pick him up, though the American was still asleep, so his Canadian half-brother ended up arriving to drive him away from that dreadful airport. He didn't really like being in the center of attention unlike the boy sitting to his left, though he _should_ be sitting to his right—stupid Americans…they also used Fahrenheit instead Celsius…and some other things.

"So, is this one of those clubs with those seizure inducing lights or what?" Arthur asked, wanting to know what he was getting himself into.

"Nah, it's just a restaurant with a dance floor in the middle with music, promise," Alfred smiled as he answered, tapping his fingers to a beat in his head. Arthur remained silent, not knowing what to say, the awkwardness of the situation finally setting in. Twiddling his thumbs, Arthur glared down at the glove compartment in front of him, feeling unbelievably small in Alfred's enormous truck.

He didn't know that they had arrived until Alfred tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Apologizing, Arthur stepped out of the truck and approached the restaurant Alfred had invited him to, already able to hear the music just fine and Alfred being right, it was rather loud. And stepping in was like hitting a wall of humidity along with the smell of food and the vibration of the bass that accompanied. Arthur had never seen line dancing before, but soon found out why it was called that when he saw a few rows of people down in the dance pit.

Alfred dragged him off to a table and left to order some drinks; apparently a waiter won't bring you one. Arthur didn't exactly like the loud music, but it wasn't horrible. It took a while, but Alfred soon returned with two cans of soft drinks. The two sat together and struggled to hear each other over the music. Arthur was just starting to enjoy himself when a group of girls approached them, squealing among themselves—he'd have to admit, he was kind of frightened by them.

"Hey, aren't you two Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland?" one asked, a magazine clutched tightly to her chest, Arthur suddenly hoping that it didn't highlight what he thought it did. Alfred smiled broadly, nodded his head with an enthusiastic 'yeah!' and the girls began speaking among themselves once more before flipping the magazine over and showing it to them. "Is it true? If so, then are you guys on a date right now?" Arthur was mortified at what the title read.

_**Alfred Jones plus Arthur Kirkland**_

He didn't even bother reading the rest of it. Alfred's smile only got wider if it was possible and he pulled Arthur into a one armed hug, giving the girls a thumbs up as one snapped a quick picture with her cellular.

"Alfred, don't encourage it!" Arthur wailed, pushing Alfred away, though his face turned an interesting shade of red.

"Come on Artie, I know you love it!" Alfred laughed, pulling Arthur back into a one armed hug, one of the girls squealing excitedly. Arthur mentally commanded to himself that he not do anything that would end up in the media the next day. Unfortunately, that task became much harder when a hoard of people surrounded them, all trying to get a good look. Alfred stood from his seat and began talking with his fan club, jumping down into the dance pit and asked the DJ to play My Moves Are White, even though it wasn't a country song. The guy gave him a thumbs up, stopped the currently playing song and tinkered with the machine for a moment before the song started playing.

_Is he going to turn this place into a hip-hop strip club?_ Was all that went through Arthur's head as he sighed overdramatically and smashed his head down onto the table, trying his best to tune out the loud music.

Alfred was happily dancing in the middle of a circle of people that crowded around him as he danced to the song and sang, doing both impressively. Looking to his right, he was kind of disappointed to see Arthur just as he slammed his head against the table, but decided to let it slide, grabbing a random girl and began dancing with her, earning complaints and loud whistles. He laughed to himself when he spotted the DJ jamming out at the sound set.

The second verse started ending, Alfred left the girl and jumped over the short rail that separated the dining area from the dance pit and abruptly pulled Arthur to his feet, wanting to dance with him instead of the girl he had just left. The Brit's face blushed red and he found it cute and Alfred began flirting with his childhood friend without him even knowing it.

After pressing himself closely to Arthur, the Brit seemed to snap out of it and push him away. Then after that, Alfred offered to teach him how to line dance after an hour of letting the other calm down. Arthur hesitantly agreed and returned to the dance pit. Alfred coached Arthur through the dance three times before signaling for the DJ to play another song, though this time one with a genre that the restaurant was known for. Alfred smiled down at Arthur as a large hoard of teens older and around their age jumped down and joined them enthusiastically. Everyone seemed to know the dance according to Arthur, so he felt out of place, his movements hesitant and forgetful, but he managed to perform nicely. Alfred found himself watching Arthur go through the dance, seeing that the American was slowly falling out of step and beat with everyone else, Arthur soon bumped into him, yelping out of his focus and whirling around, managing to trip over Alfred in the process.

XXX

Francis was laughing hysterically at the video Matthew had found the next day. Alfred and Arthur must've probably gone back home after their 'date' and gotten it on according to Francis's perverted brain, but turns out Arthur got so embarrassed that he didn't want to see Francis laugh at the video that was now on the internet of the two dancing and then Arthur tripping over Alfred in a rather impossible way. Shut up, it was funny, leave Francis alone. Matthew, though, found no humor in it, reading the text below the video.

"Francis, this isn't funny, everyone thinks that Arthur and Alfred are a couple now, this'll completely destroy their relationship," Matthew worried, lightly punching Francis on the shoulder.

"Then maybe we should show some PDA to settle their cases down no?" Francis suggested, leaning closer to Matthew suggestively and brushing the Canadian's cheek. Matthew was frozen, his face beet red, but still managed to break his trance, pushing Francis away with a horrible stutter.

"T-that's not i-it! A-Arthur probably won't think that th-this is very funny…" he furrowed his eyebrows with angry concern. "W-we should go to Alfred's and check on Arthur," Matthew continued, slamming his laptop shut and getting up to leave. Francis simply followed, finding nothing better to do.

"Say, has you _maman_ scheduled a concert for us? _Je meurs d'ennui_," Francis sighed as he plopped into the passenger seat, Matthew having deciding to drive. Matthew seemed to have not heard Francis's question and the French teen was about to ask it again when the Canadian half-brother of Alfred spoke up.

"She's got one scheduled for next week," he announced, easing out of the drive way. Francis nodded, but wasn't satisfied with the fact that he had to wait for a week. "Next Friday," Matthew added as if reading Francis's mind. Nodding his head, Francis got himself comfortable in the seat after buckling his seat belt.

The two remained in silence for the whole ride, Matthew lightly fuming and Francis watching for any cars that looked like they were following them. When he saw none when they finally arrived at Alfred's place; which was a bit out of town, Francis calmed and walked over to the door to knock as Matthew let the engine die and pulled the keys out, stepping out of his car. The two ended up having to wait for a while, Alfred and Arthur probably either busy, or thinking that they were more fan girls…or boys. Francis ended up having to knock a little harder on the door and yell something in French to let them know that it was him. There was a bit of scuffling and finally, Alfred opened the door, looking a little upset.

"Whoa, what happened _mon ami_?" Francis asked as he took in Alfred's appearance. His whole appearance screamed 'I was up all night and I'm angry and upset'. Alfred muttered something and reluctantly let them in. They found Arthur sitting in a dining chair, face hidden in his arms which were crossed on the table. He looked like he was asleep, but it was obvious that he wasn't with the way his leg bounced anxiously. When Francis approached to get a closer look at his rival, he saw two ear buds stuck deeply into his ears, able to hear the music from where he was standing.

"Are you two okay?" Matthew asked, hesitant to approach either one. Alfred nodded tiredly and Arthur obviously didn't hear him.

"I uh…just publicly embarrassed him and his parents just called, nagging about how they didn't want him hanging with me any more since the headlines said that I was making a move on him…" Alfred uttered, itching at the back of his head. "Gotta admit, I'm kinda angry at them, but I can't blame 'em, they haven't seen since…well…years ago," he added. Matthew nodded in an understanding way. Sighing, Alfred raked a hand through his hair, remembering fondly how Arthur always fussed over his cowlick back when he lived in America. "So…uh…how's your end?"

"Boring as hell," Francis answered, chuckling at how opposite each of their situations were. Francis found himself wishing that he and Matthew were in Alfred and Arthur's positions at the moment, dying for at least _something_ to happen.

"I can see…well, I'm trying to convince Artie here that it's all just fine, but he just refuses to listen to me…calls me an egotistical bastard," Alfred itched at the back of his head once more before letting his head drop and slap against his thigh.

Francis tapped Arthurs shoulder, though the Brit didn't jump, just tore the ear bud out of his ear and glanced tiredly at the French teen, his expression basically reading 'please just get it over with, I'm trying to do something'. Arthur looked a tad surprised that Matthew and Francis were there, but also acted like he had expected to come around sooner or later. Kiku should show up sometime soon, Matthew having called him to meet them at Alfred's place when Alfred was updating Francis on what had happened.

"Hey guys, Kiku's coming over and we have a concert next Friday…Arthur, if you don't mind…would you like to come?" Alfred seemed to brighten up at the concept of a concert.

"What songs will we be playing?" Alfred asked, rubbing at his eye. "Sorry, haven't slept…"

"No problem…err…we'll be playing Broken by Lifehouse, I thought Fireflies would be a nice song too and Wavin' Flag would be perfect to play, we can have our flags and all…but we can change what songs we'll play if you want something else…"

"Yes, that'd be awesome," you could hear the excitement through the thick exhaustion in Alfred's voice. "Hey, can you get your mom to schedule a concert for the Fourth of July too? That'd be amazing, I've got an awesome song I wanna save for that, hey Artie, wanna come?" Arthur looked up at him without moving his head, giving Matthew the image of a hurt dog. "Awesome! Hey Artie, you play anything?"

"Just a guitar, but I'm kind of rusty on it…" Alfred fist pumped.

"_Attendez une minute, I'm_ your guitarist no?" Francis cocked an eyebrow in question. "He can do bass."

"No, that's boring, come on Artie, we can start practicing, I promise, this will make up for yesterday," Alfred almost begged, smiling broadly and tugging at Arthur's sleeve in an almost desperate manner. Arthur grunted and pulled his arm away.

"I'll think about it, but Francis should still be your guitarist…I guess I'll sit out," Francis smiled. He didn't know Arthur had a heart! He was about to thank the Brit, but was interrupted by Alfred's loud objections. Francis frowned—apparently Arthur came before him…

"Do not worry _Angleterre_, I can back up sing with Alfred," Francis announced, Alfred sending him a megawatt smile before turning his attention to his surprised childhood friend. Arthur didn't miss the disappointed tinge to Francis's voice, but brushed it off as his tired brain.

With the incident at the restaurant forgotten briefly, Arthur was soon flooded with guitar practices that Matthew managed since the boy was a rehearsal freak. They had ended up having to buy a new guitar since Francis, despite letting Arthur be the lead guitarist for their concert, downright refused to let the British teen use his guitar. Arthur refused to use it too, saying that the French flag sticker that was slapped on it was too unbearable to look at even if Arthur wouldn't be looking at it when he played.

It took a while, but Arthur ended up getting a new, and not to mention trippy, navy blue guitar which had the British Union Jack on the body. They didn't even have to get a sticker for that! And it went along perfectly with their name. Francis and Matthew had gone off to get Francis a shirt that displayed the French flag since he wouldn't have his guitar to show his nationality.

Matthew helped Arthur practice and Francis joined every now and then, wanting to know were Arthur was at when it came to the guitar. He was surprised that he was basically at the same level as himself, able to use almost all of Francis's practice sheets and song books.

Kiku had come over and was told about the news and they sent Kiku back home to grab his keyboard, Alfred wanting to practice in Matthew's room despite the fact that the small room would be unsuitable for playing music loudly. Kiku returned soon after, his father helping him carry the instrument and its stand along with cords into the house, Matthew feeling like his home would be turned into a recording studio if they kept it up. Matthew's mother had helped the two Japanese men move the piano around before leaving off to get groceries. Francis had brought an amplifier for the guitar and plugged it in, Arthur giving it a strum to reveal that the volume was up, _way too loudly_. Matthew felt it in his chest. Alfred ended up having to leave in hopes that his ears would cease their ringing.

Only Matthew had heard Arthur play since they rehearsed without an amplifier and Alfred was in his room, either playing video games at ridiculous volumes or playing his music too loudly. So this was the first time Alfred would hear his childhood friend play.

"Okay Artie, let's hear a riff…uh…how about the opening one in Camera Shy?" Alfred was pumped. "No, that's too easy…" Arthur rolled his eyes and just began finger picking at the guitar, playing an impressive little jingle. Matthew began tapping on the snare drum before starting his own beat. Alfred hadn't expected for Arthur to be almost as good as Francis. "Dude, when did you have the time to _learn_?"

"In England," Arthur answered bluntly, striking a chord that rung out loudly via the amplifier, though not as loud as when they first tested it. Kiku had started a little jingle to go along with Matthew's drum beats, bobbing his head lightly to the music they were creating.

"So you never visited because you were playing guitar?" Alfred asked, suddenly realizing that he had yet to ask Arthur why he wasn't able to visit until now.

"Shut it Alfred, it's called family issues," Arthur snapped. "Now where's Francis, the frog needs to get the bloody tuner in here, I can't tune by ear," Arthur continued, picking at one of the strings repeatedly. "…Are you sure it's okay for me to…err…I don't want to say replace, but, are you sure it's okay for me to replace Francis for this one?"

"Of course it is! Right Mattie?" Matthew slumped down in his stool at the question, not exactly wanting to answer it. Arthur, tapped nervously at the neck of the guitar, second guessing his decision.

"Um, I don't think I should do this, Francis should, it's not my place to do this, I'm not even going to stay for the rest of my life, I have to go home and I know you'll get used to me playing Alfred, you're just that kind of guy…" Arthur started remove the guitar from around his neck, having a little trouble with the strap.

"No! Come on Artie, we spent _a lot_ of money on your kick ass guitar, you can't stop now, you two can alternate right? Promise," Alfred turned to Matthew for his input once more. Matthew nodded hesitantly, tapping his drumsticks together, a little uncomfortable with their current situation. Alfred turned a hopeful expression towards his childhood friend who hesitantly placed the strap back around his neck, not saying anything else.

Francis had arrived a little later, his mood a little sour about something, but he brightened up just enough to sing back up with Alfred. He didn't exactly enjoy being a background role, but he'd just have to suck it up. Matthew had told him that he and Arthur would alternate anyways. Hopefully Alfred stuck to his promise.

XXXX

**Je meurs d'ennui – I'm dying of boredom**

**Attendez une minute – Wait a minute**

**This isn't proofed, so sorry for all of the mistakes you spot. And I'm sorry for the late update again, I have been very busy lately, but I don't think this week will be as busy, so hopefully I can update by Thursday :) Please review and peace out my friends :)**


	8. Chapter 8

** Oh man, I think this story's gonna flop. :( When I first started it, I was like "Yeah, I really like how I'm getting this started." Then about chapter three/four, I was like "Eh…kinda iffy…" and now I can just tell that it's going downhill unless I do something about it. I'll try doing something about it too this chapter. Hah, the bowl of Hamburger Helper in my lap is so warm and cozy :D **

**Enjoy**

**XXXX**

"Gilbert Beilschmidt, Alfred. Not Billshit," Matthew sighed, hearing a snicker come from Francis. Tonight they'd be featuring star rapper Gilbert Beilschmidt since one of their songs required it. Alfred had begged them for hours until they finally caved in, not having much time to practice until the concert. The guy was supposed to arrive today to go over the song a few times every two hours or so, but he was three hours late; they should've rehearsed twice by now.

"Well Billshit kinda fits him right now giving that he's la—" a loud bang rocked them out of their conversation, their attentions being drug over to the silver haired teen standing at the auditorium doors, a wide smirk plastered onto his face. Alfred could already see that this guy was probably a big ass, but held his tongue—he had been the one to ask for him.

"The awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt has arrived!" he yelled as he strode down the aisle, approaching the stage, that wide smirk never faltering. He was dressed in a sleeveless shirt, showing whatever muscles he had, paired with v_ery_ baggy pants. His red eyes stuck out though, for it wasn't a natural color.

"Are you wearing contacts?" Alfred asked, pointing at his own eyes so the rapper would understand what he meant. Gilbert looked very surprised at Alfred's question and his smirk, finally, faltered as he crossed his arms moodily, a frown forming quickly.

"No, the awesome me would never need such things," a crude, toothy smile was soon pulled out of thin air, his anger quelling to be replaced with arrogance. "Looks like you're the one that needs eye help," he snorted, motioning to Alfred's glasses.

"This guy's a huge arse," Arthur murmured in Alfred's ear, Alfred nodding his head in agreement. Although Gilbert saw the exchange, he didn't yell at them for being secret, his grin simply widened as he scaled the small steps that allowed you up onto the stage without straining one's self.

"Now are you two together or something? 'Cause you looks perfect fo—" he was silenced when Arthur shoved the Prussian off of the stage, yelling for him to 'kindly shut the fuck up'. Matthew sent a regretful look at Alfred who did the same, the American silently apologizing to his Canadian half-brother as Arthur fumed next to him. Francis all but seemed amused by the display, deciding to poke in on the fun as well.

"_Oui_, I agree with Beilschmidt," he snickered as Arthur aimed his glare at the French teen. "You two would—" he was thrown off stage too. It took a moment, but the two eventually poked their heads up to get a glimpse at the remaining band members on stage. "So violent," Francis grinned, being shoved back down by Arthur's foot, though failing at holding back his amused laughter.

While Arthur was off beating the shit out of Francis, Gilbert climbed back on stage. When he spotted Matthew, his crude smirk turned into a seductive one, strolling casually over to Alfred's relative.

"Drums eh? Yer kinda scrawny to be doing something like that aren't ya?" Gilbert's grin only grew as he reached over the symbols to grab Matthew's chin, tilting his head upwards. Matthew, through all of that, was stone still, too shocked to deal with it. "You're cute. How 'bout we just ditch these guys and have some se—" he was thrown off stage once more, though this time, courtesy of Alfred. The singer wordlessly approached the edge of the stage, ready to jump down and do the same thing Arthur was currently doing to Francis, though in a much more violent way.

He was about to when Kiku finally spoke up, advising for everyone to be quiet. The quiet pianist's voice was loud and firm, something unexpected of him and the two attackers stopped along with the victims. Matthew still sat in his stool wordlessly, though a little red in the face.

"Now please, we haven't gotten our first rehearsal started, I'd advise that we need to get it going now since we don't have much time to spare," Kiku was right. So Alfred and Arthur grudgingly walked away from their targets and took their spots on the stage. Gilbert and Francis muttered to each other how the two were so violent, but still perfect for each other, Arthur sending them a warning glare that was obviously ignored.

XXX

They had managed to fit in five rehearsals, Gilbert picking up on the songs easily and he was soon going at it as if he was with them from the start. Matthew had been slightly distracted the first practice, but after that, he was just fine, still a little flustered at what Gilbert had almost done, but none the less, he was dandy.

Gilbert peeked around the curtain to look at the crowd, a grin forming on his lips.

"Eh, didn't know newbies like you could be so popular," Gilbert gave them a thumbs up, Arthur and Alfred completely ignoring the silver haired rapper. Francis and Gilbert fell into a friendly conversation, either one sending a sly look at Alfred and Arthur every now and then before continuing with what they had been saying.

"You guys need a bass player? Dude, I know one! He's kinda creepy, but he'll do, he can fucking _shred_ on a bass!" Gilbert piped, answering Francis's question of if he knew any bass guitar players since they might need one sooner or later. Arthur's hands were too small for the large guitar frets no matter what size it was when they had tried bass guitars out when they were looking for a new guitar for the Brit and Francis refused to replace his precious guitar with a four stringed one. "His name's Ivan Braginsky."

"Ivan Braginsky? I think I've heard of him before, but…then again, maybe not," Francis rubbed the small beard on his chin. Oh yeah, he was so fucking manly with his awesome, kick ass beard, though Arthur had told him that he would've mistaken him for a girl if he didn't have his beard. That hurt. It meant that he looked like a girl. He did _not_ look like a girl for sure! The only people that mistook him for one were his teachers and kids that didn't know him back when he didn't have a beard. Okay that was basically everyone new he met, but whatever.

"He's a real creeper that's all I can say," Gilbert shrugged his shoulders before peeking around the curtain once more as people filed into the auditorium. Unfortunately, Matthew's mother had booked an area that was indoors, not out. They had hoped to play outside today, but beggars can't be choosers. "Say, when do we walk out?"

"When the people stop pouring in," Francis answered easily. Gilbert nodded and eased back into a seat next to Alfred, earning a sour look from the American as he scooted a tad away from Gilbert before sucking up the fact that he had to sit next to the Prussian unless he was to get up and sit somewhere else. Giving that there was no other place to sit, Alfred didn't complain.

Gilbert was getting horribly bored, and that Matthew kid was just so cute. Alfred would likely be extremely pissed if he got up and started flirting with the Canadian, but he just couldn't resist. So instead, he asked Matthew that he wanted to talk about something _in private_, making that statement loud enough for Alfred to hear.

Matthew seemed confused, but stood and excused himself, leaving backstage. Alfred and surprisingly, Francis, both watched the two leave in suspicion before resettling in their seats. It took a while, but eventually the two returned, Matthew red faced and Gilbert smug as ever. Alfred resisted the urge to jump up and strangle the guy until he couldn't breathe, but then again, they needed him to be able to use his wind pipes properly, so Alfred refrained from doing so.

"We should go out in about a minute," Kiku spoke up, peeking around the curtain. The group prepared for their performance, Arthur fiddling very nervously with the guitar strapped around his shoulder, wondering if he should back out now, but if he did, he'd disappoint Alfred greatly.

"I'm nervous," Arthur whispered to Alfred. The American wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled the Brit closer the best he could without jabbing the head of the guitar into his abdomen.

"Don't worry Artie, you'll do great, you're just as good as Francis, so I'm sure you can pull it off just fine," Alfred reassures, grinning a toothy grin at his childhood friend. Arthur smiled the best he could while gradually turning red, making sure that Gilbert or Francis weren't watching. Unfortunately, both were watching with their backs turned, peeking around their shoulders and snickering, though Francis's looked strained.

XXX

"_Matthieu_, what did Gilbert do to you before the concert?" Francis questioned as the two sat on Matthew's bed, calming down from having hoards of fans surround Francis. Francis was amused at how panicked Arthur had become when he was almost trampled by his new fangirls. Alfred had been forced to rescue Arthur, and Gilbert joked around about the two being perfect for each other a bit more.

"What? He didn't do anything like _that_ Francis…" Matthew weakly defended, twiddling his thumbs nervously as Francis gave him an accusing stare. Looking away from the French teens face, Matthew focused his attention on his lap, finding the details on his jeans suddenly extremely interesting. "We just…talked…"

"_Just_ talked?" his friend sounded so accusing that Matthew wanted to cry and tell the truth. No, they didn't _just talk_, Gilbert had managed to take away Matthew's first kiss, though it wasn't innocent, for the Prussian had started to grind his hips against Matthew's. Luckily, he wasn't close to being ready for something like that at all and had chickened out. He didn't want to tell Francis because just the thought scared himself. He didn't want to mention it at all…

"Yeah…no problem," Matthew forced himself to smile and look at Francis, though it was hard to.

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying Francis!" Matthew whimpered, on the verge of crying. He didn't want his crush to be angry at him at all…"I'm telling you nothing but the truth!" a lie.

"I don't think your expression when you returned tells the same story. Now tell me the truth," Francis demanded. He knew that he was getting a little too rough with Matthew, the boy, despite acting tough for Alfred the best he could, had extremely sensitive emotions. But he didn't want that rapper to be getting close to _his Matthieu_.

"Francis…Just please drop it I—"

"No," he interrupted sternly and stubbornly. Frustration flashed in Matthew's eyes and the Canadian clenched his hands into fists and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Don't make me force you," an empty threat and he had never meant for it to leave his lips.

"You bastard! I asked for you to leave me alone! So _please_ leave me alone!" Matthew wailed loudly, punching his fists into his lap, making him bounce a bit on the bed. Francis was shocked, but not enough to be into silence.

"No! Now if you'd just tell me what would happen, we wouldn't be arguing," Francis barked, taking hold of Matthew's shoulders. Matthew choked back a sob and punched his fists into Francis's chest, hoping that it hurt the French bastard.

"You'd kill me if I told you! And why do you even care?" Matthew bit. He had never felt so angry in his life. Francis remained silent, though his hands never left Matthew's shoulders, his hold not even faltering.

"This is why…" and their lips met.

XXXX

**Do you hate me for ending it like this? Lol, hope you don't. Things in between Mattie and Francis won't be going easily though, that's all I can tell you. Same goes for Arthur and Alfred who'll pick it up pretty soon hopefully. :) Oh, and this isn't proof read so yeah, please review and peace out my friends :)**


	9. Chapter 9

** Hey guys, I'm back :) Are ya happy to see me? Lol, probably not, but whatever. I don't really have anything to say right now other than this chapter will not be proof read. Oh and question: **

**Why do you guys like this? **

**I tend to have problems with not liking what I write, so it's hard for me to understand why people still hang around. But whatever. You don't have to answer the question above, I'm just curious as to what you guys think. Enjoy :)**

**XXXX**

Right after Francis and Matthew had kissed, Matthew had snapped out of his reverie, stood abruptly and bolted. He went to Alfred immediately, not knowing what to do. He almost tackled his American half-brother to the floor when he saw him, clinging to his relative's arm.

"Whoa, Mattie are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," the second part of Alfred's statement came out in a snicker, but Matthew ignored it. His mind was a jumbled mess, probably representing the American's room back at his house. It took a while, but Matthew managed to recompose himself, letting go of Alfred's sleeve and straightening up before plopping down into a dining chair with a loud huff.

"Alfred I don't know what to do," Matthew groaned, his voice filled with despair and confusion. Alfred, not expecting this tone out of his relative, pulled out a chair and sat down across from Matthew, worry on his acne free face.

"What's the matter?" he asked after getting settled. Matthew twiddled with his thumbs, wondering whether he should tell Alfred or not. He probably should though, for it would become a huge problem sooner or later. Taking two deep breaths, Matthew calmed his nerves as much as he was allowed to.

"Okay…so you know how Gilbert's been uh…hitting on me?" Alfred nodded his head. "Y-yesterday…he…he…when he asked to speak with me in private…you remember?" another nod. "When we were out there…he…he-e kissed me," Alfred looked like he was about to start screaming about that, but Matthew managed to beat the American to it. "A-and! And Francis was probably suspecting something…"

Arthur walked in, Matthew halting his words as the British teen did so. Alfred's attention was pulled away from Matthew's story and he grinned the best he could at Arthur since the fact that, that dirty Gilbert guy had kissed his half-brother was weighing down on him. Alfred beckoned for Arthur to lean closer and he whispered into his ear. They were like that for about two minutes before Arthur nodded and left.

"Artie's off to interrogate Francis on his side of the story," Alfred smiled and gave his half-brother a not so enthusiastic thumbs up. "Anyways, please continue."

"So…Francis was suspecting something…but I haven't told him what happened yet because…because I think I like Gilbert too…" the look of horror on Alfred's face almost made Matthew want to run off and cry, but he remained rooted in his seat. "And when Francis was asking about what happened in the hallway…he…we kissed…Al…I don't know what to do or think…I can't choose who I want to be with," Matthew knew that Alfred would want Matthew to be with Francis giving that everyone excluding Matthew disliked Gilbert. But the American had respected his right to choose and kept his mouth shut.

"I…I have no idea what to say Mattie…well first off, you should think very thoroughly on this."

Arthur sighed and opened the door to the guest room in Matthew's house, not even bothering to knock. There, Francis sat in the same place on the bed where he had kissed Matthew. The French teen looked up at him, and as if nothing had happened the last ten minutes, he grinned at his 'friend'. Rolling his eyes, Arthur walked over and sat down on the bed, a good distance from Francis.

"Alfred wanted me to talk to you about Matthew. He's rather confused Francis," oh, the shit goes down when Arthur calls Francis by his real name.

"Oh please, that Gilbert guy had obviously done something I won't like to dear _Matthieu_," Francis scoffed, crossing his arms stubbornly. Arthur just cocked a large eyebrow at him. "So I decided to _kindly_ ask him and he flipped out on me. So I decided to kiss him. I will keep that Gilbert guy away from Matthew," Francis unfolded his arms and got comfortable on the bed.

Arthur snorted at what Francis had just said. "For all I know, Matthew should be kept away from _both_ you and Gilbert," at that Francis slightly bristled. "And do you want to know _why_ he should be kept away from _you?_ With the way you flirt with everyone imaginable, Matthew would take it to heart since he that type of guy. I know you can turn around and around, kissing everything with a pulse and not feel anything, but Matthew would be hurt from your actions. I I'd kindly advise that you not even try."

"Oh _Angleterre_, that is not true," Francis furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes. Alfred should've came up himself, he would never get something like this finished civilly with Arthur.

"Shut up! I swear, with you being such a bloody pervert, you would snog anything that breathed," Arthur mirrored Francis's actions. Francis fell quiet and Arthur hoped that he had gotten his point through that thick French skull. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.

Francis started laughing at Arthur. "Are you serious _mon ami_? I'm sure you're just imagining things," okay, so Francis wasn't aware of how he acted most of the time, but this was downright ridiculous. "Plus, I'm positive that it should be _me_ giving _you _advice on how to get with dear Alfred no?"

"Don't you d_are_ change the subject!" Arthur bit. "And I do _not_ need to have _gotten with Alfred_ to at _least _give you some God forsaken advice!" he continued, leaning forward in frustration. Francis just blew out some air in a mocking way which made Arthur grunt in frustration, standing up to grab a piece of paper and a pen. He then started scribbling down on said paper, Francis waiting patiently for the Brit to finish his work.

When he did, Arthur showed Francis his work. It was a bubble map titled '_Things that would hurt Matthew_'. In the middle was Francis's name giving that he was the main subject. Then, four reasons in their own bubbles surrounded his name. '_Flirts with anything and everything' 'Dense' 'Thinks of yourself and not about other's feelings/self-centered' 'Doesn't listen to what others have to say'_

Francis cocked an eyebrow at this, seeing no reason to why Arthur had just did that.

"_Mon ami_, you just wasted paper," Francis glared. Arthur's lips pressed together into a thin line, more rage bubbling up inside of him. With a loud exhale of air, he crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room and started shouting at Francis who began shouting back.

"_How_ can you not _see_ your own bloody flaws?" he roared, taking a fist full of Francis's shirt and pulling him close, glaring right into Francis's blue eyes which were glaring back.

"Why don't you look for your own flaws first no?" Francis shot back, Arthur frustratingly pushing Francis away, telling him that he was hopeless and that he should just go die somewhere rotten. Francis didn't take offense though, shooting insults back at Arthur.

"Okay, since you're so da_ft_ and will _not_ listen to a _bloody_ word I say, I will conclude with this: Do _not_ under _any_ circumstances flirt with _anyone_ if you e_ver_ get into a relationship with Matthew, which I _highly _doubt with how damn dense you're acting," he snarled. Arthur didn't expect to be pulled close to Francis, who had an enraged, yet sly look in his eyes.

"Ah…but what if I say it's _fun_?" Arthur registered that their faces were too close.

"_Fun_?" he almost laughed at what Francis had to say. "You say that flirting and breaking people's hearts is _FUN_?" his amused anger was turned into pure loathing by the end of his sentence. "I see nothing amusing in hurting others. So if you'd _kindly_ let me go, I'll be on my dandy way."

"No you will not," Francis grinned, though he wasn't amused. He was frustrated. They both were and it would only lead to trouble. It never lead to something positive. Never. "Let's see if I can break _your_ heart _mon amour_."

"FRANCIS, DON'T YOU BLOO-MPH!" Arthur was silenced when Francis forced his lips onto Arthur's. His arm rose very, _very_ slowly before it launched forward, Arthur barely registering that he had made a fist and had socked Francis as hard as he could before he noticed that Francis was on the floor. "…Francis…WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO? I cannot _believe_ how you could…could…URGH!"

Francis jumped up and pinned Arthur to the bed, frustration, irritation, everything that related to anger was flashing in his eyes. Francis leaned down and repeated the action he had just performed seconds earlier before getting punched in the face. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, being forced to wait for it to finish giving that Francis had his whole body pinned to the mattress. They separated when they heart hurried footsteps, it taking Arthur a minute to realize that it had been Matthew who had run off. Alfred stood frozen at the door, the look of pure betrayal on his face before he awkwardly excused himself and ran off to get Matthew.

Arthur pushed Francis off of himself and bolted out the room, after Alfred and Matthew. The two look alikes probably took it wrong. With the two red from anger and panting from yelling at each other, it painted the perfect misunderstanding.

"Alfred!" Arthur just managed to stop the American from driving off in his pickup, grasping his wrist just as he was about to shut the door. Sky blue eyes that were filled with unshed tears snapped to the side to get a look at him. Arthur was silent for a moment before continuing. "Francis…overreacted when I was trying to tell him how to deal with Matthew…" clearly Alfred didn't believe him. The American remained silent before gently removing Arthur's hand as if it were made of glass, closed the door and drove off, after Matthew who had driven off a minute ago.

After an excruciatingly long moment of standing in the drive way, Arthur stormed back into the house, wanting to give Francis a piece of his mind. Slamming the door open would be the beginning.

"FRANCIS!" his voice was low yet loud as he stomped as loudly as he could up the stairs and to the guest room. His voice was getting sore. "_This _is what I've been trying to tell you! You go off and act all _suave_ with someone, turn around and snog another!" he yelled, slamming the door open to find Francis still on the bed, though in a sitting position. "What is the meaning of all of this?" he snarled, not even daring to get any closer to the French teen who had obviously overreacted to Arthur's attempts at explaining how to get into a proper relationship with Matthew. Other than that, the buy had basically ruined a lot of chances he had with Alfred. One stone, two birds. Only in a negative sense.

Francis didn't answer his demands and Arthur left without a word, though with plenty of frustrated sounds.

When Matthew's mother arrived home and had asked where Matthew and Alfred had gone, Arthur had replied with a blunt 'they went out', his voice scratchy. She adopted a worried look, asking why his voice had sounded so rough and Arthur told her how he had just gotten over the top with Francis, which was totally true.

"Will they be coming back any time soon?"

"I'm not exactly sure on that one," Arthur sighed, slumping in his seat at the empty dining table. That was also true. Matthew's mother, oblivious to what had just gone down, started making dinner. Arthur sighed once more and extracted his cellular, texting Kiku about what had just happened. He pondered whether he should contact Alfred or Matthew, but decided against it, letting the two cool down on their own and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

Arthur was exhausted and all he wanted to do at the current moment was sleep. He'd do so after dinner just so he didn't seem disrespectful.

Morning arrived and Francis awoke to an empty room. Arthur had either slept in Matthew's room, or had decided to crash on the couch. Francis knew that it was the couch. The door slammed open though, making him jump and Arthur looked downright pissed. It was as if someone had hit the rewind button on a television controller, for this scenario was very familiar.

"I know it's early in the bloody morning and that it's probably too early for your brain to even register anything, but you should at least be aware of what you've caused," Arthur hissed, his voice low, yet he wasn't yelling this time. Francis almost laughed at how Arthur sounded like he had just gargled a cup of tacks, but decided against it. Ah, it was raining horribly outside too…

Arthur removed the laptop from under his armpit and opened it up, the screen flickering to life to show the news page he had opened up earlier. Francis stared dumbly at the photo, well, at first it was dumb, but then as he registered what was on it, his expression slowly morphed into one of pure horror and regret.

There, in a horribly mangled mess, was Matthew's small car.

**DRUMMER MATTHEW WILLIAMS IN BAD CAR ACCIDENT**

Apparently someone had T-boned Matthew on the driver's side and he was currently in the hospital with a broken leg and a minor concussion.

"I hope this is as far as he have to go to get my point through your head," Arthur was quiet now, his voice just barely above a whisper. There was no trace of anger or anything vaguely related in his voice. Just pure regret which was paired with guilt, a tone that didn't belong to someone like Arthur.

Closing the laptop, Arthur gave Francis one last look before turning on his heel and placing the laptop on the nightstand, heading out the door.

"…Where are you going?" Arthur stopped at the door briefly before answering.

"To the hospital, where else?" and he left.

Arthur regretted not bringing an umbrella or raincoat to America. This rainstorm could rival those in London where he lived. It was bad and Arthur had already seen several car accidents as he aimlessly wandered around the city in hopes of finding the hospital Matthew was being held in. He also hoped that Alfred was uninjured.

He was soaked to the bone and freezing his ass off, shivering like a leaf in a hurricane.

_ Did I already pass that Starbuck's_? Arthur stuffed his freezing hands into his pockets in hopes of keeping them warm. His phone was probably permanently dead now that it's been exposed to the rain for such a long period of time. Arthur briefly forgot where he was originally intending on heading, so he sat down on a vacant bench and stared out into the road. He was surprised when he didn't recognize Francis's car pull up to him.

"Arthur," shocked out of his sulking, Arthur looked up to see that Francis had rolled the window down and was actually using his real name. "I decided to give you a ride there giving that you've been going in the wrong direction for two hours," blushing in embarrassment, Arthur got up from his seat and headed over to the passenger's door, having difficulty with pulling it open with his numb fingers. He sat down in the passenger's seat and tried to get comfortable giving how soaked Arthur was at the moment.

When they arrived at the hospital, Arthur mentally cursing that he had passed it twice, they managed to get in just in time to visit Matthew before his surgery. The two had to beg for the nurse to let them visit actually. It had taken a good half hour, but the work paid off.

When they entered, they weren't surprised to find Alfred at Matthew's bed side, not acknowledging them at all. Ten minutes passed and Matthew finally woke up, rather surprised to see two additions to Alfred. After a minute, his exhausted, concussed brain registered that it was Francis and Arthur.

"Wha-what are you two doing here?" his voice was quiet like it had been when he was younger, and pain laced it with the effort.

"I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't come to visit _Matthieu_," Arthur almost saw a ghost of a smile creep onto Matthew's features, but deemed it as an illusion created by his brain which was pounding from an upcoming headache and a not-too-far-off fever.

"Oh shut it Francis, if it weren't for me leaving, I'm sure you would've never came," Arthur fumed, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion.

"I doubt that _Angleterre_, people change."

"Just not that fast frog," Arthur snapped, narrowing his eyes at Francis in a warning gesture. It clearly flew right over Francis's head, for before Alfred knew it, the two were arguing, though it wasn't the joking kind they were used to. They actually looked like they would take out a gun and shoot the other in the head at any given moment.

"Fine. If you'll be that difficult, I'll leave then," Francis stood and left the room without another word, though Arthur yelled at him as he left.

"Look who's being difficult!" Alfred noted that this wasn't the light irritation Arthur normally held with Francis. This was true loathing. He didn't understand though. He and Mattie had walked in on something they never should've interrupted. If Arthur was so spiteful towards Francis…then…they probably misunderstood. That meant Arthur was right when he had stopped him before Alfred drove off to find Matthew. Arthur let loose a sigh. "Matthew, consider your relationship with Francis doomed. He's dense, he's self-centered and flirts with anything which is everything," and with a wave of the hand, Arthur left.

Alfred looked at his half-brother who looked as if he were going to cry any minute.

"I'll go talk to him…" Alfred started to get up.

"No…he's right…" sending a defeated look at his American relative, Matthew offered a defeated smile as well. "I'll just have to live with that."

"No…we'll figure something out, don't worry about it," Alfred shined his hero smile. A genuine one at that. Matthew brightened up a tad and Alfred left to speak with Arthur or Francis about what had just happened. He wanted this all to be cleared up, he could tell that Matthew didn't like any of it.

After fighting off a mob and for the first time, not feeling like dealing with any of them, Alfred went off to scavenge for Arthur who could be anywhere at the moment. He could tell the Brit was getting a cold with how he sounded and how bad his posture was when he had sat down next to Alfred.

"Hey, have you seen a guy about yay tall? Uh…messy blond, huge eyebrows…soaking wet?" Alfred slightly blushed at the final one and cursed Francis for making him think that. But Francis wasn't here now was he?

"Oh, he just left," cursing once more, Alfred bolted out of the hospital in hopes of catching Arthur before the other caught something even worse than a cold. Alfred ran down the sidewalk, slipping on the water here and there and bumping into people, shoving past them and even going as far as running across streets without waiting for the proper time, making cars swerve to the side and honk at him, Alfred yelling a rushed 'sorry' over his shoulder before continuing his mad dash.

Alfred finally managed to find Arthur who was sitting on a vacant bench. Sighing with relief and slight frustration at the Brit's actions, he sat down next to him without a word, hoping that Arthur would have to start the talking instead of himself. For once in his life, he didn't feel like flapping his lips endlessly. Unfortunately, the other gave no sign of speaking to him.

"Uh…hey…" Arthur nodded in acknowledgement , but nothing verbal. Feeling a little neglected, Alfred tapped Arthur on the shoulder, saying the first thing that came to mind. "Are you cold?" a nod and without thinking, Alfred pulled Arthur into an embrace in an attempt to warm the other. He could see the other shaking when he had approached the bench and sat down next to him, now he could feel the other tremor. It was kind of pitiful, but he didn't voice that thought, Arthur would just wail on him if he did.

Arthur on the other hand, had turned bright red and almost considered pulling away. But the second he had felt how warm Alfred was, he decided against leaving, going as far as wiggling closer to the American in an attempt to get more body heat. He was s_o freaking cold_.

"Hey Artie?"

"My name's not Artie."

"Hey Artie?" he smiled a little at the huff his childhood friend let out. "Was the part about Francis overreacting true?"

"Yes Alfred, it was. Now please quite talking, I wish to get warm," Alfred smiled, and even though Arthur sounded unconvincing, all of the evidence was there. Whatever, most of it. Boy, if Francis caught them snuggling on the bench in a torrential downpour that was on the borderline of being a monsoon, he'd never leave them alone about it. Speaking of Francis…

"Ah! _Angleterre_, it has seems that you and our dear Alfred have figured things out! Have you kissed yet?"

"Francis you bloody git!"

The guy was damn lucky he was in a car.

XXXX

**Angsty…dramatic…oof, I've never written something like that before. Well, now that that's out, hopefully things will pick up a little in between Alfred and Arthur from here :) So yeah. Please review, I love to hear what you guys have to think. Oh, and this isn't proof read just to remind you…Peace out my friends :)**


	10. Chapter 10

** Howdy guys, I'm back :D Thank you MerridewLover for the fan art, I've never had it before and I'm so grateful for it :D Thank you again :D So here's the tenth chapter, double digits people :) Enjoy.**

**XXXX**

Arthur glared at the piece of paper that had been tacked to the billboard crudely. He wished that it'd burst into flames with the intensity of his glare, but alas, it didn't. A few passerby's were sending him odd looks, but Arthur couldn't bring himself to care. The flyer just mocked him.

_**PARTY AT ALFRED F. JONE'S HOUSE!**_

_** ANYONE'S INVITED!**_

__The damn American had thrown a party probably without his own parent's consent. Arthur had a horrible feeling he'd be on cleaning duty tomorrow. Jeez, that guy went from chasing after Matthew to throwing parties for strangers. Sighing in aggravation, Arthur slipped two fingers over the top of the paper and tore it off of the billboard, the tack remaining in the material, thus ripping the paper. Arthur, of course, didn't care though, crumpling up the paper and then throwing it in the empty cup that used to hold orange juice in it.

"That bloody yank went off without anybody's approval and threw a god forsaken party!" Arthur fumed. Matthew sighed and picked at his food, one hand holding the fork, the other tapping on the rim of the wheel to his wheelchair. They were expecting Matthew to be in crutched a few weeks from then, giving that the surgery was more than a success.

Muttering to himself, Arthur extracted his phone and speed dialed Alfred. When the other picked up, you could definitely tell there was a party going on at his place. Arthur could hear other people and the loud music, Alfred having to yell into his phone so Arthur could hear him over the ruckus.

"Alfred, what the bloody hell were you thinking?"

"_Oh, hey Artie! Thought that I needed a little fun since…ya know, a whole bunch has happened. So I put flyers up yesterday and I got like…a TON of people to come! I swear, it's like I had posted it on the internet…well…someone else could've, but…you get the point! Oh! Hey Artie, come on over, it's really fun!"_

"No, I will not go over there you—gah, Kiku's coming over soon to see Matthew, but I'm still not going there," Arthur sighed, taping one finger against the back of the phone he was pressing against his ear. Alfred was such a…a…he didn't even know.

_"Aww…come on Artie, it'll be so much fun! Can't you just ditch 'em for a couple of hours?"_ the way Alfred had said _'ditch'_ instead of something else made something in Arthur boil. Balling his free hand into a fist before relaxing it, Arthur replied with a very stern 'no'.

"Oh, and by the way, do you know where Francis is? I need to speak with him," Arthur asked, Matthew sending him a slightly suspicious look. Mentally rolling his eyes, Arthur awaited Alfred's reply, which was a dumb 'dunno'. "It's 'don't know' you git. Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

_"ARTHUR WAI—" _ Arthur snapped his cellular shut before Alfred could continue his begging or complaining. Leaning back in his seat with an exasperated sigh, he rubbed his forehead with his hand, somewhat wishing that he would've stayed in England. Why did he have to choose the summer Alfred rose to fame? He was hoping for a summer of just doing things normal kids did like go out to play football (soccer) or start a food fight in the local café. But nooo, he just had to come when Alfred would start cramming his schedule with interviews, avoiding fangirls, photo shoots, concerts, the such.

Arthur jumped slightly when _The Star Spangled Banner_ started playing on his cellular. Immediately knowing that it was Alfred (because when Alfred would call, Arthur had set the ring tone to the American national anthem), Arthur hesitantly flipped it open and answered. This time, there was the faint sound of music, but no people, Alfred was probably upstairs in his own room for peace and quiet. Slight peace and quiet actually.

"_Hey Artie, I was gonna tell you that I'm throwing a party at Mattie's after the fourth of July concert, but you just hung up. So notify him!"_ and then he hung up. Arthur stared blankly at the space in front of him, not exactly wanting to accept what Alfred had just said. Throw a wild party…at a handicapped persons house…and it's not even your own…damn how was he going to tell Matthew?

"Hey Matthew, Alfred's got a party planned for after the fourth of July concert and it's going to be at your house," Arthur announced almost bluntly.

"I hate this wheelchair," well that went better than he thought. Arthur let out a dumb 'huh?', since he should know that having to operate a wheelchair wasn't the most fun on earth. "I mean, I can't walk and I need help getting places…I don't like it," Matthew continued, patting the rim of the wheel. Matthew seemed hesitant with what he was going to say next, but managed to get it out. "They…they say I might have a permanent limp…"

Way to make a guy feel guilty.

Arthur pulled Matthew into the best hug he could muster giving that the other was in a wheelchair and sitting across from him. Smiling lightly, Matthew hugged the other back before separating and returning to picking at his untouched food.

"I uh…sorry…what about your head?" Arthur asked, knowing that his head injury wasn't so bad and that bringing up something that the other knew he'd fully recover from would make him cheer up at least a bit.

Smiling at Arthur's attempt, Matthew answered with a light smile. "Ah…nurse said I'd have a few headaches here and there. Might forget something miniscule from now on, but I'll be making a full recovery after about two months."

"That's good," he pat the other on the shoulder. Matthew's smile brightened at the friendly gesture and pat Arthur's hand.

The small bell to the door that allowed entrance to café rang, announcing that someone had arrived. Looking over his shoulder, Arthur was happy to see Kiku approaching them with a tiny box in his hands.

"Ah…Matthew, I heard about the accident, I hope you get better, hello Arthur," Arthur greeted Kiku with a nod of his head as the Japanese boy handed the tiny box to Matthew who opened it. His smile widened further, looking like a much softer version of Alfred's megawatt smile. He extracted a necklace, the pendant being a tiny sakura tree inside of a large red-orange maple leaf. There was no chain, it was more of a string so it wouldn't look feminine.

"Whoa, Kiku, this is so cool…" Matthew unclipped the two parts connecting the ends of the string and handed it to Kiku who helped put it around the Canadian's neck.

"You like it? I got it at this cool shop around here. It sells a lot of flags and country symbols there."

"We could get some stuff for _The United Nations_. It'll define us more," Matthew piped up. He was really happy for the first time that day.

"Oh, Arthur, I saw a few Anglo-America stuff that you or Alfred might like," Kiku suggested, Arthur going slightly red at what it hinted to. But Kiku wasn't that kind of guy. That was Francis. "We could go after getting you two a proper lunch, I know a good Japanese restaurant you might like," Kiku offered almost excitedly. Matthew agreed and Arthur agreed with it as well. The three of them left the café after paying and Kiku walked them to the restaurant, giving that they didn't have a vehicle that could transport wheelchairs and neither of them knew how to fold it up.

When they entered, it was slightly dim, but just bright enough to make it enjoyable. You could tell that it was a Japanese restaurant too. Arthur almost thought that he had stepped through some sort of teleportation device that had sent him to Japan. This was real.

"Jeez, didn't know this country was capable of such uh…I don't have the word at the moment, " Arthur murmured quietly, giving that it was slightly silent in the restaurant excluding the sounds coming from the kitchen and the quiet murmurs of couples eating together. Matthew almost laughed at Arthur's comment, wheeling himself alongside his two band mates as a waitress guided them to a square table, removing a chair so Matthew could get closer to the table.

After ordering and Matthew freaking out about how hot the meat was from just coming off of the stove, the three had settled into the place.

"So…what are we going to do about the fourth of July concert Alfred keeps talking about? Kiku, Alfred's throwing a party at Matthew's after the concert just so you know," Arthur started. Kiku took a moment to answer, but eventually did.

"Ah…I think we should outside, that way, we can watch the fireworks when we're done playing," Kiku suggested. Arthur, even though he wasn't fond of fireworks, liked the idea. They had yet to perform outside too according to Kiku and Matthew. He was kind of surprised, the weather was nice, much nicer and consistent than in London, and he'd see a lot of people doing stuff outside. When they had performed about three days ago, Arthur was surprised that they had ended up inside.

"That's a great idea," Matthew nodded his head. "We should also get a lot of lights, it'll make Alfred happy for all I know," Matthew chuckled at his suggestion.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. We're supposed to meet Ivan Braginsky a few days from now," Arthur announced, suddenly remembering that tid bit Matthew's mother had told him. The two looked a little blank on what he had said before it set in, the two suddenly remembering who that was. The bass player. "Matthew, you're mother recommended Yao Wang, a violinist if we ever needed one too," he added. Matthew smiled.

"Yeah, I know a few good songs that have a violin in it that I've been wanting to play, thanks for telling me Arthur," the three resumed to their lunch.

Ten minutes passed and the three paid the bill and left. Kiku was now leading them to the shop that sold flags and country symbols.

When they entered, they were hit with the scent of fabric material since most of the shop consisted of flags. Matthew wheeled off to the necklaces and bracelets while Kiku hung around Arthur who browsed blindly. It was impressi—was that the flag of that small not-a-country? What was it…Sealand? Anyways, the place was jam packed with stuff for every two hundred plus countries on the entire planet. He was even more surprised when there were less single American flag objects than the rest. It was mostly paired with something else. The one it being paired with the most being either the English flag, or the British Union Jack.

"Hey Arthur, check these out!" looking over his shoulder, Arthur grinned at what was on Matthew's head. He was wearing a pair of headphones, not the small ear buds, but the large muffed ones and on each muff was the British Union Jack. The headband that went over Matthew's head was white along with the cord. "Pretty cool huh?" yes they were.

The three browsed a little longer and Arthur pulled out a large, almost body sized Canadian flag. Grinning once more, Arthur called out to Matthew and showed it to the other. Matthew looked ecstatic to see it and Arthur just had to get it for the other since it had made him so happy. The browsing continued, Arthur having set the flag in Matthew's lap. He stopped when he saw a necklace similar to Matthew's, though it had the American flag and the British one crossed like two swords. He liked the simplicity of it and purchased it for Alfred's birthday which was, of what a coincidence, the fourth of July.

After paying for the flag and the necklace, the three began heading back for the hospital, Matthew looking a little down at having to go back. When they entered, they didn't expect to find Francis dead asleep in a very Alfred-like way. Across about the whole row of empty seats, mouth wide open, snoring (though not drooling like Alfred), and a hand on his belly, lifting his shirt. Okay, that was _so_ Alfred-like that Arthur swore it was Alfred in disguise. But alas, the French murmuring kept him from thinking that.

Walking over, Arthur lifted a leg and placed one foot on the other's chest rather harshly, jolting the French teen awake. Immediately though, Francis started complaining.

"Oww…what the hell _Angleterre_? I am trying to _le sommeil_." Arthur snorted and tugged the other off of the row of chairs.

"Last time I checked, chairs were meant for sitting in."

"But a lot of people sleep in them at a hospital!" Francis argued, sitting up from the floor and pulling Arthur down as well just for good measures. The other started yelling at him for almost concussing him and in the midst of the epic battle in between the two, Matthew and Kiku watched, if not, a little embarrassed.

"Ow! Now, before you—stop it! Francis! Apologize to Matthew!" they were getting v_ery_ strange looks from other in the waiting room, especially from some teenage girls, for Francis was straddling Arthur. The Brit refused to acknowledge the fact and forced the other off, telling Kiku that they should leave Francis and Matthew alone.

After a long moment of silence, and the people that were staring at them earlier returning to their business, except for a few who looked like they were dying to get their autographs, Francis returned to a chair.

"Well, I guess I should explain…" Francis was looking almost dejectedly at the floor.

"Yeah…I think you should."

"That _Anglete—_"

"Arthur has a name Francis," looking up, Francis flinched at the sour look he was receiving from the Canadian half-brother of Alfred. Sighing, he continued.

"_Arthur_, was verbally harassing me about what I should be aware of if I were to get in a relationship with you. But you know us…we can't settle things civilly and always end up at each other's throats _comprendre_? And…I got angry…and he got angry…and…things just went out of control from there. _Matthieu_, I was angry okay?" the look of skepticism on Matthew's face made Francis's heart drop and return his gaze to the floor.

A sniffle. Looking up, Francis noticed that Matthew had silent tears streaming down his face and he hesitantly pulled the other into a hug, muttering sweet nothings into his ear. Matthew smiled, but continued crying none the less, going on about how Francis was a dumb Frenchman that he'll always love even at gun point.

_Ka-chick!_

Breaking apart, the two spotted someone with their cellular camera pointed at them, currently jabbing their thumbs on the key pad.

Francis chuckled. "Looks like we'll be in the tabloids tomorrow no? Might as well join Arthur and Alfred."

The next day, the French teen was right. At around lunchtime, the other had burst into Matthew's hospital room, his laptop tucked under his armpit and a wide grin on his face. Matthew had stated how that was an entrance Alfred would make and Francis laughed heartily at that.

"Look! I was right," Francis opened the laptop, tapped the touch pad a few times before turning the laptop around so Matthew could see the screen. There was the picture of the two hugging in the waiting room of the hospital. Grinning and laughing lightly at it, Matthew motioned for Francis to take the seat next to the bed. "Oh, and I've been bookmarking things that pop up about us on the internet," Francis added triumphantly.

Matthew laughed at that. There were three bookmark files reading 'Alfred & Arthur', 'Moi & Matthieu' and 'Kiku'. Matthew wasn't surprised about how much was in Alfred and Arthur's file, but he was shocked about how the file was almost full. Francis had files that could fit thousands of bookmarks and favorites, literally.

"I guess they're the most popular eh?"

"Mostly because of that video _mon amour_," Matthew blushed lightly at the last two words Francis had said, but smiles none the less. Kiku's folder was basically dead compared to the other two files. There were only three titles in there. Poor and lucky guy. The two began browsing the bookmarks, joking here and there about what they read. It took about an hour, until Matthew remembered about the Canadian flag Arthur had gotten him yesterday.

"Oh, Francis, I got this really cool Canadian flag yesterday, here, let me show ya, it's under the bed, can you get it?" Matthew excitedly asked, motioning to the space under the hospital bed he was in. Francis bent over and pulled out the large flag from under the bed. Standing his full height and holding the flag by the short side, Francis beamed at how it still was able to reach the ground.

"Ah, I am impressed. Didn't know _l'Am__é__rique _sold these," Francis shook it, making the fabric ripple before folding it up neatly and placing it on Matthew's lap. Matthew smiled.

"Yeah, but I really like it," Matthew pat the fabric in his lap before leaning back into the pillow.

"When you get out of this hell hole, you should run around with it, when one runs with a flag, it looks just majestic," Francis grinned, placing his hand on Matthew's. The blush died on Matthew's face when he thought about what Francis had just said. The teen didn't know the news yet apparently.

"Uh…Francis…I…I'm going to have a permanent limp…they say I'll never be able to run again…jog yes…but not run," the look of pure defeat crossed Matthew's face briefly before become less intense.

"Ah…I am sorry for bringing it up then," Francis apologized, squeezing Matthew's hand lightly before stroking it with the pad of his thumb. Matthew sniffled and a lone tear rolled down his cheek.

"N-nah…it's all right…I don't do much anyways," Francis knew that was a lie. The boy did hockey in the winter and track in the spring, his two favorite things. That Feliciano boy on Matthew's track team (who had managed to win them every single track meet) was a funny guy too. Whenever he'd see someone scary in his opinion, he'd be off like a gazelle. It was funny, for the pure terror on his face was basically real, though one shouldn't laugh at him, everyone couldn't help it. Plus, Feliciano had never heard of track, so he was basically forced into it.

Then there was hockey. It was Matthew's life other than his drum set. Before he knew it, Francis had leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. Matthew was shocked, but expected it sooner or later since Francis preferred kissing as a type of communication over vocally saying something according to Alfred. The guy tasted like roses and…was that wine? He'd have to tell Francis to not drink it until he got older later. But his thoughts were swept from his mind when he decided to kiss the wavy blond Frenchman back.

Arthur sighed when he finally finished his epic battle with the door, which had been blocked shut since something was lying in front of it. Okay, the house was more than trashed. It was like a tornado had touched down in the middle of it. In utter shock, Arthur stepped into the living room, it being full of junk, spilled beverages, streamer, you name it. And right there on the couch, sprawled out much like Francis in the waiting room, was Alfred. The only difference being the drool that was making its way down the side of his face.

Grunting in disgust, Arthur stepped around whatever was on the floor, trying to stay on the clean parts if one could even consider them clean, and approached the couch. Picking up an empty soda can on his way. When he was standing next to the piece of furniture that held the snoring American, Arthur raised his hand and chucked the can at Alfred's forehead. He jolted awake, screaming about an invasion before grabbing his glasses and pushing them harshly onto his face.

"STRANGE—oh hey Artie!" Alfred greeted with a sleepy megawatt smile. Yep, it was a Jones/William thing to yell 'stranger' at the top of ones lungs when they didn't recognize someone in their home. Apparently, the last few times they'd been yelling it, it was false accusation.

"I have a real name Alfred. And please, let's get started on cleaning this house before your parents get home," Arthur sighed, deciding that he should just get to the point with Alfred. The other seemed unfazed until the information finally registered in his brain, setting him into full panic mode.

"SHIT! C'mon man, we gotta CLEAN!" Alfred wailed, picking up soda cans on his way to the kitchen on throw them away. Rolling his eyes, Arthur followed, picking up what Alfred had missed.

"You brought this upon yourself," the Brit pointed out, throwing the cans in the recycling and cringing at how full it already was. "Bloody hell Alfred, take out the trash on Thursdays or whenever you guys take it out, you'll be flooding your home with garbage," Arthur groaned, returning to the living room to retrieve more empty, crushed cans. Alfred babbled something off in the distance, but Arthur didn't catch what the other had said. "What?"

"I said that we've been invited to a party that Ludwig guy's throwing next week! You, me, Kiku, Frenchie and Mattie!" Alfred grinned, returning with a rag and some carpet cleaner. Arthur rolled his eyes at Alfred's grammar, but didn't bring it up. Ludwig was Gilbert's younger brother and an extremely popular guitarist that had risen from the crowd about a year ago according to Alfred as they cleaned the carpet the best they could. "So, you gonna come to this party?"

"Sure…I guess I could," Arthur really didn't want to go, but what better things did he have to do? Sighing, Arthur realized that he'd be attending more parties from here on out.

XXXX

**Le sommeil – sleep**

**Comprendre – understand?**

**L'Am****érique – America**

** Whoop, yay, this is a good length for a chapter is it not ? Well, I really don't have anything to say other than my laptop's trying to spell check every single word I type. The spell check must be set to a different language and I don't know how to fix that :P Oh well, review guys, I really like to hear what you have to say. Peace out my friends )**


	11. Chapter 11

** Hey guys :) I'm back and sicker than ever. Lol, actually, this isn't so bad compared to some other times and definitely yesterday. It got bad yesterday, but that twelve hours of sleep made me feel better. So yeah, I really don't have much to say here so enjoy :)**

**XXXX**

"Okay guys, we ha—" Arthur had started before being rudely interrupted by Alfred, who burst through the door dramatically, a tall silver haired male in tow. He was about to question Alfred's antics, but decided against doing so.

"Hey guys! This is Ivan Braginsky! The bass player that Gilbert jerk recommended," Alfred introduced enthusiastically. Arthur, Francis, Matthew and Kiku all had to tilt their heads up a bit (Matthew mostly since he was in a wheelchair) to get a good look at the tall young man. Ivan greeted them cheerfully with a wave of a gloved hand, though it was fingerless.

"I am Ivan Braginsky according to Alfred," he introduced himself, revealing a thick Russian accent.

Alfred grinned. "Yeah, and he's a pretty sick player guys! He played a riff for me at the airport and people went _ape shit_ over him…the good kind," his grin only widened. "Why don'chya show 'em Ivan?" he turned to look at Ivan. Alfred was just tall enough, enabling him to look at the other without craning his head back. Nodding in agreement, the Russian swung the leather guitar case around from his shoulder and unzipped it, revealing a _dark_ (emphasis on the dark) purple bass guitar. It was big too.

His cheery smile still stuck to his face, Ivan started to play the same riff he had performed for Alfred at the airport. His fingers flew over the neck of the guitar, pressing down harshly on the thick strings in order to smoothly execute the sound without the strange sound guitars emitted whenever one didn't press hard enough. When he finished, Alfred looked enthusiastically and expectantly at his band mates and was glad to say that they were thoroughly impressed.

"He's good, he's good," Francis remarked, nodding his head up and down slowly with a thumb rubbing on his jaw line. "Ah, I'm Francis Bonnefoy," he suddenly remembered to introduce himself. "Eyebrows there—"

"Hey!"

"Is Arthur Kirkland, he's _British_," when Francis had said 'British', he went as far as attempting a British accent, his faint French one obviously destroying it which made Matthew giggle. "The dark haired one is Kiku Honda," Kiku bowed. "And this one," Francis placed a hand atop Matthew's head and smiled fondly. "Is Matthew Williams, though he and Alfred are half-brothers."

Alfred grinned again before motioning for Matthew to follow him into the kitchen.

A bit confused, Matthew gripped the rims of the wheels and wheeled himself along. Alfred was doubled over the dining table, that grin having never left.

"So, wha'chya think? He's pretty cool right?" Alfred asked, leaning forward in anticipation of Matthew's opinion. Matthew could only nod his head in agreement, not exactly knowing why Alfred had pulled him off to the side just to ask this. "He's pretty hot too right?" oh, never mind what he had just said earlier.

Tilting his head in confusion, Matthew furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion. "Well…yeah, I guess I could say that. Didn't know you had a thing for guys like him though so sorry if I sound surprised," Matthew itched at the back of his head before attempting to tuck that one curl of hair that stuck out behind his ear, only to have it spring back into his line of vision. He had learned to tune it out, but sometimes it managed to catch his attention.

"No problem half-bro."

"But I'm staying strictly dedicated to Francis Alfred," Matthew sternly added before his American half-brother could say anything else. Alfred nodded his head in an understanding way.

"Hey, do you think I should ask him out or something?" Alfred questioned, his voice bordering a whisper.

"Hey, it's your decision, so knock yourself out," Matthew almost joked with a grin forming on his lips. The two chuckled a bit, Alfred saying something about not wanting to perform self-harm so Matthew would have to do it.

"Yeah, I'll ask Ivan out probably tomorrow," Alfred concluded with an excited grin. Matthew smiled softly up at his half-brother, but didn't feel like Alfred was making a good choice. Brushing that thought aside, Matthew had to tell himself that who Alfred dated was Alfred's choice, not his or anybody else's.

Arthur had overheard the last few parts of Alfred and Matthew's conversation, the introductions having been done and the task of reminding them of the rehearsal they had to do in about an hour placed on him. He had stopped when he heard the two talking about asking someone out and he had flushed slightly. Unfortunately, they had been talking about Ivan and his stomach dropped like a stone.

He entered the kitchen, eye averted. "Rehearsal in an hour you two," and after that, he turned on his heel and nearly bolted.

Alfred and Matthew both sat at the dinner table, Alfred more confused than Matthew.

"What's his problem?" Alfred asked. The way Alfred had worded that made Matthew flinch slightly, looking up at the bespectacled teen with a slightly concerned look. He hoped Alfred would figure this entire thing out without severely damaging someone's (mainly Arthur's) emotions.

"Alfred, please be careful with all of this."

XXX

They had all decided to meet at the school's auditorium, Alfred having taken off to show Ivan the city right after Francis had finished talking to the Russian, Francis and Matthew having gone off to shop, though Alfred severely doubted that. Kiku went home and Arthur stayed at Matthew's with nothing to do.

Alfred sighed at the nostalgic feeling he was getting despite their rehearsals at school only being about a month ago. Alfred, Arthur and Matthew had all been rehearsing at Matthew's home, though Alfred would sometimes go back to his home. Francis and Kiku practiced at their homes too. This was their first time practicing together now that Ivan was there and that they had three days to spare before the concert. They were also practicing for the Fourth of July concert which was three days after the upcoming one.

Alfred tapped his foot on the stage, glancing at the wristwatch wrapped around his left wrist. Arthur was late. That was something that rarely happened, but then again, he probably got lost since Matthew's mom was currently unavailable and Arthur couldn't drive giving that he was uncomfortable even in the passenger's seat, complaining about how American's read the blueprints wrong.

He and Matthew were currently talking about what order they'd play the songs when Matthew's phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, Matthew read the text before snapping his phone shut and shoving it back into his pocket.

"You've got a photo shoot with Ivan tomorrow," Matthew announced and Alfred whooped. Matthew got up and left to tell Ivan.

Alfred looked over when he heard the auditorium door creak open before closing loudly, Arthur strolling down the aisle with his head bowed and his guitar slung over his shoulder. Grinning, Alfred loudly and smartly remarked how Arthur was late. The other acted like he hadn't heard Alfred's statement as he scaled the small steps.

"Oh, Artie, you'll never guess what I'm going to do tomorrow!" Alfred grinned, poking his friend on the forehead once he had finally lifted his head. Arthur was about to answer bitterly about Alfred asking Ivan out, but held his tongue. "Me and Ivan have a photo shoot together tomorrow! Isn't that awesome?"

"It's and I dolt and…that's great," Arthur grumbled halfheartedly, shoulders slumping slightly before he headed over to the amplifier he'd be using as second guitar, Francis getting to be lead for the upcoming concert. They'd be alternating for the Fourth of July concert.

"Dude, are you sick or something?" Alfred asked, though no concern could be heard in his voice. Straightening up from plugging the guitar to the amplifier, Arthur glanced at Alfred before averting his attention to something else.

"Yes Alfred…I've managed to catch something from you Americans," he answered. Alfred could barely hear the Brit's answer, but heard it none the less.

Nodding, Alfred returned his attention to the rehearsal they had to get started. "Alright guys! Let's start with All the Small Things!" Alfred announced, raising the microphone high in the air before lowering it and tapping it to make sure it was functioning correctly.

Looking over to Francis, Alfred gave a thumbs up, the French teen doing the same, a wide grin spreading across his face before giving a thumbs up to Matthew who tapped his drumsticks together. The couple started the song.

Alfred noted in amusement, about halfway through the song, that Matthew needed a pony tail and how Francis was basically in his own world. He also needed a pony tail. Arthur was a backup singer here, singing the higher part while Alfred sung the lower. Alfred subconsciously noted that Arthur was a good singer and how the other sang with his eyes closed. Kiku was standing next to Arthur, him also being a backup singer with Arthur since they didn't require a piano in this song, nodding his head to the beat.

The song originally didn't have a bass in it, but they had managed to create a funky bass addition, making the song sound much better. Ivan was good at it too obviously.

When the song ended, they held the last part out until it eventually died down. Alfred pumped a fist into the air with an excited whoop and Francis began complaining about how sweaty he'd gotten. Alfred snickered at Francis's complaining, the other acting like he had never expected for it to happen even though it's happened multiple times.

"Hey guys, me and Mattie had decided the order, are you fine with All the Small Things, Your Guardian Angel, Roundabout and Fat Bottomed Girls in that order?" Alfred asked. Francis had wanted to do Fat Bottomed Girls and when they had figured out that Ivan was a damn good bass guitar impersonator as well, which meant he could bring his voice low enough to sound like a bass guitar, they had excitedly agreed on singing the song acapella. Matthew was a damn good beat boxer and Alfred joked about the two being able to play their own instruments without actually having them physically in front of them. Alfred would be the lower half of the melody and Arthur would sing at the same tone as Francis to make it sound more reinforced. Kiku would be sitting out unfortunately.

"Yeah, ending with that would be great," Francis grinned as he started the opening to Your Guardian Angel. Alfred grinned as he heard agreement from Matthew behind him and Ivan who was to his right. He didn't get a response from either Kiku or Arthur though, but that was fine, if they said no, their opinion would be outweighed by Alfred, Matthew, Ivan and Francis's.

The next three days went by in a hassle, trying to get things ready for the concert and rehearsing for the Fourth of July one that was coming up fast. Ivan wouldn't be performing there, but they were still in a whirlwind of activity. Avoiding fangirls was a different story, but that was campfire worthy.

Alfred and Ivan's photo shoot had gone without a hitch either, the picture becoming an instant hit on the internet. Alfred had asked Ivan out that day too and they had gone out to eat at a Russian restaurant Alfred had been two about twice in his life. Ivan surprisingly had a good sense of humor and could pull funny jokes seemingly out of thin air.

On the day of the concert, which was luckily held outside on such a nice night, Alfred and Kiku were double checking on the stage lights that littered the platform. They were everywhere and Alfred sometimes marveled at how much electricity there actually was at the tips of their fingertips. They had a whole bunch of amplifiers, speakers and almost literally a ton of lights of all colors that would move in any direction. They also had, for the first time, large screens that displayed them up on each side of the stage, a camera crew elevated up from the crowd in the back to film them. All of that and the city was still able to turn its lights on and off no problem.

Matthew ended up having to take his anxiety pills again, this being the first time they had performed live where they'd be broadcasted without the magical power of newscast editing. Alfred was so excited but also a bit down knowing that Ivan would have to leave tomorrow. Probably even after the concert. But he kept up his gusto, just for his fans.

"Hey, how are you guys?" Alfred asked enthusiastically into the microphone, the crowd answering with even more energy. Grinning, Alfred started introducing Ivan to those who didn't know the bass player. Francis pat the body of his guitar twice before giving Matthew a thumbs up and a large grin, not forgetting to throw in a wink. The Canadian blushed and smiled back, giving his own thumbs up to the French teen.

Once the cheering died down, Francis waited a few seconds before starting All the Small Things by Blink-182, Matthew starting at the same time which was mastered at rehearsal. Alfred bounced to the beat, grasping the microphone and singing into it. When they got to the chorus, Alfred glanced over at Francis and Matthew once more, amused at how they had lapsed into their own worlds.

When that song ended, they briefly allowed the crowd to cheer before starting Your Guardian Angel, Francis's movements much calmer. When they had first decided to play that song, Alfred had asked if Francis had an acoustic guitar and the other laughed at him, stating how he could alter the sound to make it sound like whatever he wanted it to sound like. Alfred slightly knew about that with the wa-wa pedal, but that was basically it. He had sheepishly chuckled and itched at the back of his head, a tad embarrassed.

Kiku was on the keyboard, it being set to 'cello' so that it emitted the sound of a cello. Technology these days. Arthur was his backup singer once more, Francis also in there but only as the repeater, the one that repeated whatever Alfred had just sung, just more quietly and in a slightly lower key. Alfred had concluded that he enjoyed listening to the Brit sing. Arthur would play the second guitar that came in two thirds into the song.

When they started Roundabout, Alfred listened to Francis in the intro, which was rather calm. But that wasn't the case when Ivan jumped in with his 'bass guitar of epicness', a grin on his face as his finger flew over the frets and pressed harshly down only to fly back up and go to a different fret. He was way beyond impressive. Kiku had to hastily change the settings which he had all saved to one file fortunately so it wouldn't take up more than two seconds to change sound effects.

"All right guys, we've got a pretty sick treat for you guys," Alfred announced as Francis, Ivan, Arthur and Matthew all grabbed a microphone, Kiku staying at his seat by the piano, flexing his fingers. Francis grinned and greeted the crowd with an enthusiastic _bonjour_, a few girls screeching in excitement at hearing him speak his native tongue. Alfred would never understand them.

When they started, Alfred, Arthur and Francis together, the whole crowd went ballistic. When they repeated the first line, Matthew jumped in, pressing his lips to the microphone and wrapping a hand around it. Alfred was still amused how the drum player actually sounded like a drum set. Matthew was bouncing along to his beat, a few hand motions being thrown out here and there as Ivan's voice dropped about two octaves lower than his normal one. Alfred would never get how that was possible.

The song ended and the crowd approved. Alfred waved at them and thanked them for coming, reminding them of the Fourth of July concert that would also be broadcasted live and were it was located. They went over to a few tables where they'd be autographing whatever was handed them, also doing a meet & greet.

As expected, people flocked around mostly he, Arthur and Francis, but the number of fans Matthew had managed to attract because of his beat boxing was impressive. He was almost as famous as Francis was now. The Canadian looked shocked to be receiving so much attention too, being used to being over shadowed by his American half-brother.

But no matter what, Alfred always received the most attention, most of the people going to him. Those who didn't go to him first eventually migrated over to where he was seated.

The pen he was holding had almost run out of ink and his hand was cramped by the time they were done. Alfred happily stood up and stretched his arms high above his head. The six of them eventually joined each other on stage, Matthew and Francis talking to one another happily, Kiku and Arthur talking about whatever and Alfred and Ivan talking about where Ivan was going.

"I've been recommended by Gilbert a lot. Off to play with different band next week," Ivan answered as he flicked the amplifier off before unplugging the bass guitar.

"So you gonna text me if you got the time?" Alfred asked hopefully as he placed the microphones into a cardboard box, wrapping up the cords neatly after that.

"Yah, I'll even tell you good joke when I have one," Ivan smiled, zipping the guitar case up and slinging it around his shoulder. Alfred grinned and placed the cords into their own boxes. He remembered how Arthur had scolded him about being careless with cords, telling him how it was important to take good care of stuff like that. He had taken Arthur's advice and was now a careful packer when it came to expensive equipment. "I'll see you around," Ivan ruffled Alfred's hair like a parent would to a child before kissing him on the nose.

Grinning wide enough to show his pearly whites, yet a blush still managing to dust his cheeks, Alfred pushed his glasses farther up his nose before returning the favor almost shyly on the Russian's lips. Ivan smiled in a sweet way, ruffled his hair again and turned to leave.

Francis returned to packing up his guitar after witnessing Alfred and Ivan's exchange once Ivan had turned and descended the steps that lead off of the stage. "I didn't know Alfred had a thing for guys like Ivan," he remarked.

"Me either," Matthew sighed. They were waiting for Alfred to help him pack his drum set onto his truck. "He told me the day Ivan arrived, but I'm not so sure it's the right thing," he shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his drum sticks into his pocket before helping Francis out with unplugging the amplifier. Though, he forgot the most important thing: turn it off before unplugging the guitar. When he pulled it out, it made a horribly loud 'POP!' noise and worst of all, right in Francis's ear. The other yelped and covered it with both hands. Matthew's head was slightly buzzing from the loud noise and he turned the volume down before turning the amplifier of with a shy 'sorry'.

"Ah…it is no problem _mon amour_, just please remember to unplug it beforehand," Francis groaned before slinging his guitar over his shoulder, his ear ringing from the loud noise. The noise had caught everyone's attention, but nobody said anything about it.

Alfred had gone off to get his truck and drive it over to the stage. Arthur was helping Kiku carry the piano to the tuck, throwing it into the truck bed before grabbing the stand, folding it and carefully placing it next to the electronic instrument. Francis placed his cased guitar and Arthur's cased guitar on top of one another in the corner to reduce the chance of them sliding around and damaging anything. Alfred and Francis helped Matthew load his drum set into the truck bed as well before Alfred got into his truck, promising to be a safe driver and driving off. Francis and Matthew got in Matthew's car since Matthew would be driving Francis home and Kiku and Arthur getting into Kiku's car.

"Good beat boxing _mon ami_."

_"Merci."_

XXXX

**Lol, there's Russia x America/Ivan x Alfred. I think there'll be a little more which means YES IVAN'S COMING BACK. Lol, le gasp! Ivan isn't scary? No he's not :) I do like scary Ivan, but I like not scary Ivan better :D This isn't proof read either guys, so brace yourselves for whatever mistake you manage to catch. Please review, I love to hear you feedback and peace out my friends :D**


	12. Chapter 12

** Hey guys, I'm back :) Lol, I've got two new story ideas floating around in my head, but I refuse to start one until I finish this or Flying's His Thing. Can't wait to get 'em started though. Thanks for all of your feedback to the Russia x America thing too :) Apparently a majority of you don't exactly favor it. Don't worry, I don't exactly like it either. So yeah, other than that, enjoy :)**

**XXXX**

Tomorrow was the Fourth of July concert. Joy. Within the span of what? Three days? Their rehearsals had become so frequent that it was stressing everyone out, Matthew's mother had found them a manager for when she was absent, off to Berlin and Francis had found them a new soundboard controller. They hadn't met him yet, but he was going to be present at the concert tomorrow.

Currently, Francis, Matthew, Kiku and Arthur were triple checking the amplifiers, speakers, microphones, etc. Alfred was off a few yards behind stage, marking where the fireworks would be placed and polishing their execution times on paper. Just because he was dense, didn't mean he wasn't good at math.

"Come on guys, we need to rehears one more time!" Alfred announced, returning from his duty behind stage. He jumped up onto it without using the steps, watching as Matthew struggled with a cord that connected the stage lights to a generator that would be used tomorrow. A brief moment of no answer passed before someone finally acted as if Alfred had actually said something.

"O-okay, we're almost done," Kiku said, untangling the two cords that connected Arthur and Francis's guitars to the amplifiers. "Just…just give me a minute, I managed to tangle these up…" he daintily attempted at untangling them before Francis was forced to take the task under his own wing, untangling them with slight difficulty. "Oh, and Alfred, I had wrote a song Arthur could sing…it's in Japanese and we've all been practicing for a while…"

Alfred grinned. "Aww, and you kept it a secret from me?" he slung an arm around Kiku's shoulders, pulling the Japanese boy close and making him uncomfortable since the American was now invading her personal space. "Sure, could you play it for me? I'd love to hear it!" he let Kiku go, who brushed his wrinkled sleeve down and straightened out.

"Okay, Francis, if you could," Kiku turned his head to look at the French teen who had just turned the amplifier on as he approached his keyboard, turning it on as well. Francis nodded and waited for Matthew and Arthur to get ready themselves.

Alfred jumped off stage and backed away to get a good view of his band mates, that grin still plastered to his face as he stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. Francis rose the hand that held the guitar pick in the air dramatically before starting the song, Arthur jumping in as well on his own guitar. Matthew's job, of course, was to keep the beat and Kiku added in any extra sounds that were required for the song giving that it didn't require an actual piano.

When Arthur had started singing, in _Japanese_ mind you, Alfred was blown away. Alfred's favorite part of watching his band mates perform without him was watching Francis rock out. It was just too funny to pass up. But he didn't focus on that for once. Arthur had his glued to the space above Alfred's head as he sang, lips almost touching the microphone and depending on muscle memory to execute the correct chords to the song.

Matthew's glasses were on the edge of his nose by the time they finished. Alfred was silent for a grand total of thirty seven seconds before he started clapped, a very wide grin stretching at his lips. He approached the stage and walked up the steps before clapping the Japanese boy on the shoulder, slightly frightening him, though Alfred didn't see that.

"That was awesome Kiku! We should totally play that for the concert," he flashed Kiku his megawatt smile, hopefully he didn't blind him too.

"Thank you Alfred. _Arigato_," Kiku bowed and smiled once he straightened up. Alfred didn't know what _Arigato_ meant, but he was still happy none the less.

"Yo, no problem buddy!" he grinned and removed his hand from Kiku's shoulder. "Mattie, your glasses are falling off," Alfred pointed out just as the spectacles slipped off of the tip of his nose, Matthew just barely catching them before they hit the ground. The hero has rescued one from another crisis. Good job Al.

"It's kind of hard to play drums in a wheelchair," Matthew remarked to nobody in particular, twirling his drumsticks in a flashy way before halting the action. Pulling away from the drum set, Matthew wheeled over to Francis who was, again, complaining about how sweaty he was. Plus it was July, which meant pretty hot weather.

"Dudes, I'm pumped about tomorrow," Alfred grinned as he approached Francis and Matthew, Kiku following behind as Arthur sulked to himself for some reason. "We need to put the songs in an order now," Alfred clapped his hands together. "Any suggestions?"

"How about we start with Living on a Prayer?" Kiku suggested.

"First of all, it's _Livin'_ on a Prayer and I don't exactly think we should start with that," Alfred answered, rubbing his chin. "C'mon Artie, join us!" he waved the other over who almost reluctantly came over, sitting down next to them. They were all sitting in a circle on stage (except for Matthew), pondering what to do in terms of what order to put the songs in. "Oh, Kiku, do you have a name for that song you just showed me?"

"Uh…no I haven't thought of a good name yet…" Kiku answered, looking a bit embarrassed. "We could all brainstorm on one," he continued. The five began thinking over it, trying out thousands of word combinations in their brains.

"Oh! How about, Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman?" Alfred grinned triumphantly. Matthew giggled, that was something Alfred would _so_ come up with. "What' so funny?"

"Absolutely not, that is a redi—"

"Nonsense Arthur! It is a splendid name!" Francis interrupted. Arthur was about to argue when Matthew agreed with his French boyfriend. "See? My dear _Matthieu_ agrees with me and Alfred came up with it, so your opinion is outweighed," Francis grinned. Arthur huffed and then silently seethed to himself. Alfred triumphantly grinned.

"Hah! I knew it was a good name!" he pat his chest.

"Hey, I think I have a good song order for the concert," Matthew brought their original topic back up. "How about we go in this order: Far Away, Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman, This is War, Livin' on a Prayer and end with Camera Shy?" Matthew suggested, looking nervous and hopeful that his suggestion would be accepted.

The group thought over it for a short moment before Alfred grinned. "Yeah, that sound good," he slapped Matthew on the shoulder much like he had done with Kiku not too long ago. "Good job half-bro!" he grinned, Matthew flinching at the strength Alfred had unknowingly put into it.

"No problem, just…next time be a little more careful," Matthew grunted, rubbing his shoulder.

"Alright guys! Let's continue with rehearsal!" Alfred jumped up and dashed over to the microphone, tapping it twice to make sure it was on. The other four headed over to their places on stage and prepared for the rest of rehearsal.

They all had been practicing independently, Matthew and Alfred together most of the time. They had also decided which songs Francis and Arthur would be lead guitar in. Arthur would be lead in Far Away, This is War and Camera Shy. Alfred peered over his shoulder, at his band mates to make sure they were prepared to resume rehearsal. All four of them gave him a thumbs up, being ready a little later than Alfred.

"Alright, let's go!"

Alfred whooped when they finished Camera Shy. He had been pumped with energy by the time they were halfway into This is War. He didn't know what to do with it either, so he'd just have to wait it out. It was difficult, but eventually it dissolved.

He approached Kiku with a happy expression, sitting down next to the Japanese boy, everyone currently taking a break. "Man, Artie's such a different guy when he's playing guitar ya know? Like, one minute, he's quite a stick in the mud, but when he plays he's like…like…actually cool," Alfred grinned, leaning closer to Kiku who leaned slightly away from him as he did so.

"Ah yes, music does that to people you know, you're quite different when you're singing songs like Your Call and Far Away Alfred," Kiku pointed out with a nod of the head. "You look more…mature and…and passionate," Kiku looked at Alfred and smiled.

"Yeah, and Mattie's such a quiet and sometimes shy guy, but when he's bangin' on those drums of his he's a punk," Alfred snickered and Kiku didn't drop his smile, it even showing a hint of amusement.

Alfred looked up when he heard _The Star Spangled Banner_ being played on Francis's guitar. Grinning, Alfred turned and whooped, pumping a fist in the air and grinning widely at his French friend. Francis looked over to him and grinned himself before managing to smoothly change it to _O Canada._ Matthew joined Francis by adding a simple beat, though enough to make their little gig interesting.

Alfred chuckled. "Francis is such a random guy," he shook his head slowly. He loved his peeps, that's all he could say. Arthur had joined Francis and the two had transitioned to _God Save the Queen_ successfully, though it sounded like _My Country Tis of Thee_ to Alfred. _La Marseillaise _was soon being played a bit after that.

He peeked around the edge of the stage at the huge crowd in front of the stage. Alfred grinned joyously and turned to look at his band mates.

"This one's gonna be huge!" Alfred announced, clapping his hands together.

"Indeed," Francis remarked almost absentmindedly as he handed Matthew one of his anxiety pills. The Canadian half-brother of Alfred had been needing them less and less as they performed more, but this was the largest concert they'd had so far.

After a bit of breathing exercises, Matthew was ready and they all went on stage, their audience screaming and cheering at the sight of the overnight sensations. Alfred waved happily at his fans, going as far as winking, Francis doing the same and blowing kisses at them. Matthew simply waved and Kiku and Arthur didn't acknowledge them.

As agreed on, they started with Far Away with Arthur playing lead guitar. Arthur stood off to the side, Francis singing back up and playing second guitar. Matthew was still a bit anxious, his pills having yet to fully kick in yet, screwing up at one spot before fixing his problem. Arthur would glance over at Alfred, Kiku being true to his words about music making people different. He also focused intensely on the lyrics '_I love you, I have loved you all along'_.

Kiku announced Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman for Alfred, telling their audience that Kiku had wrote it a while ago. Arthur probably gained two hundred more fans that night and those who had already been his fan now had another reason to be his fan. Alfred stood aside and watched from the side of the stage, a happy smile tugging at his lips unconsciously as he absentmindedly replaced the microphone with his own lips before shaking that image out of his head, his face turning red.

Alfred returned to being lead singer for This is War and had a blast performing it. It had been one of his favorite songs for a while. During the bridge of the song, Alfred had managed to get the crowd to chant _fight_, pumping his fist in the air excitedly, getting their audience to do the same. Arthur was lead on the guitar this time, strumming chords with ease. Francis was back up once more along with second guitar and he'd look over at Matthew every now and then, smiling at the sight of his Canadian seemingly taking his anger out on the drum set. Seemingly.

Francis got to be lead guitar on Livin' on a Prayer. Alfred was still lead singer of course and he was jumping in place by the time they finished the chorus the first time. Francis also got the honors of playing the guitar solo, he himself also earning more fans for himself. Kiku was sitting aside for this song, it not requiring a piano.

For Camera Shy, Arthur got to be lead guitar as agreed on. Alfred loved watching Arthur jump around, jamming on his guitar and in his own little world, though far enough intact with reality to sing back up with Francis. You could tell Matthew was getting a little tired with how he was slightly lagging, though managed to catch up by the time the second verse came around. Francis was jumping around in his own spot, though less energetically than Arthur and Kiku was silently tapping his foot on the floor and his fingers against the keys, though he didn't put enough pressure on them to create a noise.

When the song ended, the fireworks were set off, flying high in the sky and exploding into a variety of colors. Alfred whooped and thanked their audience for coming with a wide grin.

"And before you leave…PARTY AT MATTIE'S!" Alfred announced loudly, the cheers of the crowd deafening. Waving at their fans, Alfred walked off stage, Kiku, Francis, Arthur and Matthew doing the same, though Matthew didn't technically _walk_. They had also installed a ramp next to the steps for Matthew's convenience.

Matthew's abode was packed. People filled the front yard and back yard along with inside of the house. Kiku played the piano outside, playing a jumpy tune, people dancing to it. Francis was in the front yard, entertaining people with his fancy breakdancing. He wasn't phenomenal at it, but he was pretty good. Arthur, Alfred and Matthew were inside, though not hanging out with each other. Alfred was with his fans while Matthew and Arthur were avoiding theirs.

The music pumping through the speakers was too loud for Arthur's liking too. He had tried to shut it out by going in Matthew's room, which was strictly off-limits, and pressing his hands against his ears. Unfortunately, it didn't work and he ended up being forced to join everyone. His head was pounding and Arthur concluded that he should leave despite being unable to drive here.

As he briskly strolled down the dive way, Arthur suddenly remembered that he had to give Alfred his gift, it being his birthday. He turned on his heel and reentered Matthew's house and headed up to the guest room where all of his stuff was. Oh God, he just remembered that. People better not be stealing his shit!

Arthur burst into the guest room, bracing himself to scream at whoever was stealing his belonging, but was met with the sight of people sitting on the beds, playing a game of cards. They grinned at him and waved before resuming their game. Wow, Arthur didn't know fans with self-control existed. So with a few eyes on him as he bent over to rummage around in his suitcase, Arthur extracted the small necklace and pocketed it before heading back down stairs to search for Alfred.

When he finally found him though, Alfred was surrounded by girls both a tad younger and older than him. And he was handing out free kisses as if they were candy. With a disappointed huff, Arthur's shoulders slumped and he pulled out the necklace, staring at the two crossing flags forlornly. He felt like a fool for even considering getting the git something. He already had everything he wanted; fame, girls and sooner or later, money.

Turning sharply, Arthur headed out of the house, having barely made it across the entire drive way when Matthew stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Matthew asked, curiosity and innocence coating his voice. Couldn't he see that Arthur was off to mope and hopefully get his by a car? And end up somewhere _worse_ than a wheelchair? Okay, that was a bit far, but the hit by a car was preferable over this hell hole at the moment. "Are you okay? You don't look so good," Matthew questioned, concern replacing the curiosity as he wheeled himself closer the British guitarist.

"What do you think?" Arthur questioned sourly, furrowing his large eyebrows at the Canadian look alike of Alfred. He knew he shouldn't be mad at Matthew since he hadn't done anything wrong to him, but he looked so much like Alfred that Arthur couldn't help it.

"Well, why're you leaving in the first place?" Matthew asked, stopping a foot from Arthur. His grip tightened around the tiny string that Arthur had intended to get Alfred. He glanced at the one Kiku had gotten Matthew, frowning at it. Matthew tilted his head in confusion before spotting the necklace that was tightly gripped in Arthur's hand. "Weren't you going to give that to Alfred today?" he pointed at the accessory.

"_Was_," Arthur grumbled. "Unfortunately, that idea lost its appeal," Arthur continued, lifting his hand to look at the necklace for a moment before dropping his arm back to his side, letting it swing a bit. "I'm leaving Matthew. I never wanted to get famous in the first place. When I came here in the first place, I was expecting a _normal_ summer," he turned and sighed heavily. "I wish I never came. I just want to go back to England," and he left.

Matthew was shocked. All of this had made Arthur want nothing other than to go home. To England. Not even the joy of playing his trippy new guitar. Playing guitar, Arthur had said when he and Matthew were rehearsing together, was one of the things Arthur loved to do and would never give up. He considered going after Arthur, but he couldn't, for he was stuck in a wheelchair. Now, he'd just have to reprimand Alfred.

Turning the wheelchair and going inside via a ramp Alfred had generously made for him a while ago, Matthew searched the house for his American half-brother. When he finally found him, Matthew motioned for him to follow, going into their parents room (which was also strictly off-limits). It was also on the first floor, so that was a good thing for Matthew.

"Alfred, have you ever considered how Arthur's feeling?" Matthew questioned, his voice stony and an extremely peeved look on his face. "What do you think he thinks about all of this?" Matthew continued, furrowing his eyebrows at his half-brother.

"I'm sure he's just fine," Alfred shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal. "Hell, he probably loves it," Alfred grinned. "Why?"

Matthew's frown deepened and he sighed. "Alfred," he paused. "Arthur wants to go home," Alfred looked like he was about to ask what Matthew meant before Matthew clarified what he had just said. "To England. Across the ocean."

"No he doesn't," Alfred denied. Matthew's lips pressed into a thin line and his hands balled into fists tightly, nails digging into his palms painfully.

"Are you _serious?_" he barked, making Alfred flinch back slightly. Matthew narrowed his eyes at Alfred. "Alfred how…how…how _ugh!_" Matthew fisted his hair with his hands, tugging at it for a brief moment before removing his hands and pushing his glasses back up his nose harshly. "Alfred," his voice was full of venom. "Did you seriously…_seriously_ believe Arthur when he claimed to be s_ick_ when that Ivan guy was around? _Really?_ Not even _Feliciano _would believe that!" Matthew continued.

"Whoa dude, he actually w_as_ sick? Didn't you see or _hear_ the way he sounded? He _was_ sick," Alfred rose his hands and slightly backed down, though not enough to keep himself from arguing back. Matthew looked shocked and angry at the same time. Matthew exhaled a huge amount of air and turned his wheelchair, leaving the room.

"I'm going to go find Arthur," Matthew announced. Alfred was confused. Wasn't Arthur here? He didn't remember seeing the other leave. So Alfred stood and followed Matthew.

"Come on dude, you're overreacting, I'm sure Artie's just fine," Alfred tried to convince his half-brother who was able to wheel past the crowd easily and get to the drive way. Alfred watched in wordless shock and Matthew unbuckled himself and stood on shaky legs, opened the car door and closed it. Though he still rolled the window down and glared at Alfred.

"You're d_ense_," and he was off. Alfred still stood in front of where the car used to be parked. Matthew had just managed to stand up and walk off, none the less operate his vehicle. Two months earlier than expected.

XXXX

**Arigato – Thank you**

** Ah, finally finished this. Took a while since I was watching television as well :) Hm, I don't really have anything to say about this, but please review, I love to hear what you guys have to say about this. Oh, and this chapter isn't proof read either :P I'm not sure when I'll actually go back to proof reading these, so blah. Peace out my friends :)**


	13. Chapter 13

** There was blood all over the hallway in school today. I at first assumed that someone had been shot and got kinda freaked, but then again, I would've heard the gunshot since it happened like, a couple of seconds before I saw the scene. Turns out someone just got angry and punched a hole into the window that let you look into the ERC…It was still scary though. So yeah, that's my story for today. Enjoy the thirteenth chapter :)**

**XXXX**

By the time Matthew stepped out of his car when he had spotted Arthur sitting on the park bench, his legs were throbbing horribly. He had to push past the pain though, to get to the Brit, worry outweighing his physical agony. He limped over to Arthur and stopped when he heard soft words coming from the other blond. He was singing.

Matthew hobbled a bit closer, but stopped again when the lines '_What if I die tomorrow? Would you miss me here?'_ were uttered, a hand going to where his heart was when he said 'here'. Arthur was singing What If, and it was a song that always got Matthew sad. But his worry skyrocketed now—was Arthur depressed? Suicidal?

"Arthur," he announced his presence, the other's voice disappearing the minute Matthew said something. The Brit sighed and hung his head, his shoulders drooping before he turned his head to look at the Canadian, his expression being irritated.

"Why are you here?" Arthur bit, his expression getting no better. Matthew gulped and hobbled even closer to Arthur, trying to hide his obvious pain from the other. For a very brief moment, concern flashed across the Brit's face before it was covered with sour irritation once more. Matthew was panting lightly by the time he was at the bench.

"I was worried about you," Matthew finally answered, legs shaking for he refused to sit on the bench. Arthur stared at him for a long moment before looking out ahead of him into the darkness, the boom of fireworks off in the distance. Matthew looked up at the sky, unable to see the stars due to the city lights and the smoke of the fireworks floating around.

The silence was horrible and Matthew considered leaving. He didn't though. Couldn't.

"Are you coming back?" Matthew asked, one hand massaging his knee lightly. Arthur grunted before turning his body to properly face Matthew. He spotted the necklace tightly gripped in Arthur's left hand.

"No."

"Then at least come back before eight," Matthew tried to smile, but nothing reassuring came. He was in pain and worried sick for Arthur. It was currently eleven at night. That gave Arthur nine hours of thinking time and Matthew figured that, that was more than enough for someone like him. "Please?" he peered at Arthur, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he did so.

Arthur remained silent for a short while. "Fine."

"Thanks," Matthew could pull off a true smile this time. He saw the corner of Arthur's mouth twitch, but that was it. As he pushed himself away from the bench, Matthew took a brief moment to brace himself for the pain that was to come when he walked. He took one step and fell to the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt with an 'oof'.

When Matthew had fallen, Arthur almost jumped up to help the other, but decided against doing so. It probably was a dick thing to do, but he just didn't want to help the other out.

Matthew held back a sob, squeezing his eyes shut. He heard Arthur stand up and almost thought that the Brit would come to help him up, but when he looked over his shoulder, he spotted Arthur's retreating back, hands stuffed into his pockets. With a shaky sigh, Matthew reached into his own pockets pulling out his mobile while attempting to get up only to have pain shoot up and down his spine. This time, it got to him and he let out a pained sob and the tears fell. Turns out the adrenaline from being angry with Alfred was wearing off.

"F-Francis…?" his voice was weak and quieter than it normally was.

"Ah! _Matthieu_, what is the matter? Are you hurt? Where are you?" came Francis's voice, worry lacing it thoroughly. Matthew sobbed again as he tried to move his leg. "Where are you? Please tell me you're nearby!"

"At the pa-ark…" Matthew answered, his voice bordering a weep. With a quick 'I'll be there!', Francis hung up, likely to dash to his car and drive to the park. Matthew sighed, shut his phone and rested his head in the grass, not bothering to pocket his mobile. His leg was going numb and he began to wonder if it was a bad thing.

Matthew had almost fallen asleep when he heard hurried footsteps. Looking up, he spotted a young lady probably in her early twenties. She was looking right at him, obviously worried that there was a teenager lying face down in the park. He probably looked like a dead animal if it weren't for the fact that he was breathing heavily.

"Are you okay sir?" she asked, kneeling down next to him. Matthew blinked a few times before trying to wave her off.

"Y-yes I'm fine. I'm waiting for a friend to come and pick me up," he answered, burying his head back into the grass.

"Oh no, I can't just leave you here," the woman urged, grabbing a hold of Matthews arm and attempting to pull him up. Matthew pulled himself away when he felt his leg give warning signals to his brain, the numbness not being enough to mask the pain awaiting him if he moved it.

"No, please ma'am, I can't move, just leave, I've got a friend coming," Matthew was a little irritated now, lifting his head from the grass once more to look up at the lady. She looked genuinely worried for his health. He had to keep himself from saying something he might regret. "Please, leave," and with great hesitation, she stood up slowly, glanced at him for a brief moment and walked off. She looked over her shoulder, back at him as she walked away. Matthew didn't see that part though, having hid his face in the grass once more.

He was once again shaken out of his grogginess when he heard more footsteps, though they were running this time. He looked up and smiled when he saw Francis falling to his knees in front of him and hugging as much of Matthew as he could in this position. A pain shot up his leg, but he refrained from yelping just for his French boyfriend.

"_Mon amour! Je suis d__é__slol__é__ je n'ai pas pu venir plus t__ô__t. Qu'est-il arriv__é__? Vous regardez horrible! S'il vous pla__ît__ ne me dites pas que quelau'un vous batter!"_ the French teen went on and on in French. Francis had been born in France, lived there for seven years and then moved to America. He learned French from then on as well. Matthew simply pulled out of Francis's hug and did his best to sit up. He then leaned into Francis who clung to him like a lost child to their parent who had just found them.

They leaned back from each other and Matthew leaned in to kiss the French teen. He always liked kissing Francis. Francis cupped his face in his hands, one hand rubbing behind Matthew's ear before the two separated.

"I went after Arthur after getting angry with Al. Heh…got out of the wheelchair as you can see, though still managed to hurt myself," Matthew explained, attempting to move his leg which sent a wave of pain up his spine, tears springing to his eyes. Francis hugged him and told him to not move his leg as much as possible. He then promised that he'd try not to move it much either before picking the Canadian up bridal style. It still hurt massively though, Matthew crying out in pain, arms flying around Francis's neck.

"Shh…I'm going to take you to the hospital," Francis ran a hand through the hair on the nape of Matthew's neck, for it was all he could reach at the moment.

XXX

"You have broken the bone again with all of the stress you put onto it before it was ready," the doctor announced, examining some X-rays. "We might have to do some surgery on it again," Francis was sitting at Matthew's bed side. Matthew looked at his broken leg which was suspended off of the bed.

"I'm fine with that. Mom might not be though…" he answered. "I'll have to call her," Matthew added in a quiet voice. He shoved his hand into his pocket and extracted his phone, finding that he had gotten a new text from Alfred and a message from his mother. Alfred's text was begging for his forgiveness (he deleted it, not ready to forgive Alfred since he was the reason Matthew broke his leg again) and his mother's message announced a duet request for a music conference being held in three days.

He began jabbing on the keypad, telling his mother that he had managed to break his already broken, yet healing, leg again. He snapped his mobile shut, handing it to Francis who pocketed it wordlessly. The guy in the white coat smiled sympathetically at Matthew. The doctor was young, probably just a mere five years older than Matthew. He was probably one of those really smart kids that skipped a grade or three.

The doctor left silently, probably waiting for his mother to arrive and sign whatever papers she needed to sign. Francis remained silent at his seat and Matthew mulled over what he was going to do. His permanent limp was obviously going to be heavier than predicted now that his leg had been messed up again. He wondered where Arthur was too. The guy had just stood and left without a word.

"Heh…at least it wasn't me this time…" Francis laughed nervously, trying his best to make the joke funny in the least. Matthew smiled and thanked Francis mentally for trying. He took a hold of Francis's hand and brought it to his face, kissing it before nuzzling it. Francis smiled and cupped Matthew's cheek with the hand he was holding before leaning in and kissing Matthew briefly. The two nuzzled each other like two dogs before kissing again and separating.

"It's my car's fault," Matthew grinned shyly. Francis chuckled and squeezed Matthew's hand.

"Ah _mon amour_. Blame it on the car."

XXX

Alfred paced back and forth. It was five in the morning and Matthew and Francis hadn't returned yet. Apparently Arthur actually _had_ left and he had yet to return as well. Kiku was the only one present, just as worried as he, but not physically showing it as much.

"What if they got kidnapped?" Alfred questioned himself, rubbing his cheek before stopping, remembering that his cheek hurt because he'd been rubbing and scratching at it so much. "Kiku, what do we do?" Alfred whined, pure worry shining in his eyes as his shoulders dropped and he looked over at the Japanese boy who was fiddling on the couch. "Mattie's not answering his phone, neither is Frenchie and Artie left his here," Alfred added, holding up Arthur's small navy blue mobile to look at it. "I even texted Mattie and Frenchie! They won't answer!"

The two had been up all night, worrying over their missing band mates, Alfred over exaggerating the situation. Kiku had tried to calm Alfred down, but all it accomplished was making the other worry more.

"Well, you did say Matthew was mad at you and that Francis just left abruptly, maybe we could piece all of this together," Kiku suggested, frantic to get the American to at least sit down and think rationally. "They could just be at Francis's house and don't want to talk to you."

"Who wouldn't want to talk to _me?_ I'm—I'm like…a _superstar_!" Alfred wailed, Kiku having to push his glasses up his nose for him since they were just about to slip off. Alfred was about to go on when _O Canada_ started blaring on his phone. He flipped it open, fumbled with its buttons a bit before finally answering it. "MATTIE? Dude, what the hell is up with you I thought you could've died and I was _so_ worried about you! Please, I'm sorry for whatever I did, I know I'm kind of a weird guy, but come on! I'm beggi—"

"Hush _mon ami_! You almost made me go deaf!" it was Francis, not Matthew.

"Oh no! Don't tell me Mattie's _dead!_ Please Frenchie, tell me Mattie ain't de—"

"I said HUSH!" Alfred shut up after that. Francis sounded pissed. Like, super-duper pissed. "Never call me Frenchie again, for one, and _deux, Matthieu_ is not dead."

"Oh _thank you!_ So Mattie's ay okay?"

Silence.

"He broke his leg again you bastard," and Francis hung up. Alfred was silent, deathly silent. Matthew had broken his leg. Again. Probably the same one and it was all his fault wasn't it? Alfred didn't know what he had done to make this chain of events unfold, but he did feel bad. Numbly, Alfred dared to call Francis again. "What?" it was sour.

"Where's Arthur?" Alfred's voice was thick with hurt and a tint of worry. "I'm so sorry about Matthew…but please tell me you know where Arthur is…" he continued slowly. He didn't have the heart to use their nicknames.

"_Pas, _no. I do not know where Arthur is," was Francis's reply. Alfred blinked a few times and it took a while to register the tear that rolled down his cheek. Wiping it away, Alfred sighed.

"Oh…okay. I'll go look for him."

"No, no _mon ami_, I'll do it," Francis was no longer angry. Alfred could hear the regret in his voice along French teens own worry.

Alfred scanned the city for Arthur. The Brit was either being mobbed by fangirls and or boys or he was managing to avoid them with some trippy British spy techniques Alfred had heard they used in World War Two. He liked the thought of Arthur being a spy. The guy was quiet unless peeved and was good at keeping his footsteps light. Alfred sometimes would wake up in the middle of the night for a midnight snack and be snuck up on by Arthur who managed to keep his footsteps near mute even without socks on.

It took about an hour, but Alfred finally managed to find Arthur on the outskirts of town, head bowed with his hands stuffed into his pockets, trudging along the sidewalk. It was obvious he didn't know where he was going either, just walking in a straight line in hopes of ending up in a different state.

He drove up to Arthur and rolled his window down, slowing his truck down to one mile an hour giving that Arthur was moving slower than that.

"Hey Arthur?" he asked, wanting to reach out and touch the Brit, but alas, he was busy with having two hands on the steering wheel. Arthur flinched and stopped, Alfred having to stop his vehicle entirely. The shaggy haired blond refused to look up at Alfred for a moment before doing so, tear tracks staining his cheeks.

"Is Matthew okay?" was his first question. Alfred had expected to have some resistance, but apparently that wasn't the case. He could see the thick guilt written all over Arthur's face.

"You were there?" Alfred asked, a little too much anger put into his tone. The other flinched and walked on in hopes of losing the American. It was obviously impossible giving that Alfred was the one in the car. "Why'd you leave him?" Alfred asked, having to switch his attention from Arthur to the road often.

"I was being a self-centered bastard you git!" Arthur barked. Alfred was surprised at the reply he received. "I'm a self-centered jealous bastard who's lost," Arthur continued, refusing to let the tears of anger fall.

Alfred stopped his truck and stepped out, walking around the front before approaching Arthur and pulling him into a hug. He pressed his cheek into the side of Arthur's head, unconsciously massaging the Brit's scalp with one hand while the other was wrapped around his torso, under his armpits. Alfred had expected that Arthur would pull away and yell at him, but the other simply melted into the embrace, a sob tearing from his throat and hugging Alfred back.

"Please tell me, is Matthew okay?" Arthur asked, nuzzling Alfred's collarbone. "And I'm sorry for all I've done, this is all my fault," Arthur continued. Alfred was about to say something, but Arthur beat him to the punch. "I let Francis kiss me that day and Matthew broke his leg. I acted like a jealous fool and Matthew probably broke his leg again, but please tell me he's not still lying in the park," he sobbed. Alfred simply closed his eyes and tightened his embrace around Arthur.

"Mattie's fine. Francis is at the hospital with him and yes, unfortunately, he's broken his leg again," Alfred answered in a hushed tone, lightly rocking Arthur back and forth. "Come on, we can go visit them," Alfred suggested.

Pulling himself together, Arthur nodded and stepped away from Alfred who smiled and turned to go around the front of the car, to the driver's seat. Seating himself in the passenger's seat, Arthur buckled himself in and waited for Alfred to do the same. Alfred u-turned and drove off to the hospital Matthew and Francis were currently residing in.

When they arrived, Alfred had brought up how this part was his fault, not Arthur's, saying that he got Matthew angry. The two talked about it as they entered, asking for the room Matthew was in. They were lead there, being told that they were to leave in half of an hour since Matthew would undergo another surgery in one hour since his mother had signed the necessary papers for the surgery to go through.

They entered the room silently, Francis at Matthew's bedside and Matthew in the hospital bed. Alfred concluded that he didn't like the plain white walls of the hospital room.

"Hey Matt," he sheepishly grinned and waved at his half-brother. Matthew returned the greeting with a 'hey yourself', waving one hand lazily. "Eh, heh…sorry 'bout all of this…my fault of course…"

"No, I already told you I'm responsible for this along with the first time," Arthur shook his head, not wanting to blame this problem on Alfred.

"Actually, the first time was my fault," Francis jumped in.

"No, I let you do that to me when I should've just walked out."

"Well, actually, that one's also my bad…I made you go talk to him remember?" Alfred tugged at Arthur's sleeve almost shyly like a child asking for permission. They stopped when they heard a giggle come from Matthew, all three of them looking at him, questioning looks being sent at the Canadian half-brother of Alfred.

"You guys should hear yourselves," Matthew smiled. "I thought you guys would be blaming each other, but instead your fighting over the title of being the one at fault," he continued, a fond expression making its way onto his face. Alfred blinked once before grinning himself.

"Daaw, let's just say we're all at fault! I asked Artie to talk with Francis, Francis kissed Artie, though he let him, Matthew was the one who drove off, I somehow made Mattie mad and Arthur left, making Mattie drive off again!" Alfred explained, slinging an arm around Arthur's shoulder and pulling his close as he did the same with Francis. "We're just like…like…one big corrupted family!" Alfred continued childishly.

Despite their situation, the other three grinned, Arthur less so than the other two.

"Oh, and Alfred, there's a music conference being held and they want us to be there along with some other bands. They're requesting a duet from you and Arthur, you got a song in mind?" Matthew announced. Alfred's grin only widened.

"All To Myself of course!"

XXXX

**J****e suis désolé****je n'ai pas pu****venir plus tôt****. ****Qu'est-il arrivé****? ****Vous regardez****horrible!****S'il vous plaît****ne me dites pas****que quelqu'un****vous battre****! - I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier. What happened? You look horrible! Please don't tell me someone beat you!**

**Deux – Two**

**Pas – No**

** Daaw, I loved typing this chapter! It was so much fun. :) So, what do you think of this one? I really hope you like it. So yeah, please review, I love hearing what you have to say and I need the feedback. Peace out my friends!**


	14. Chapter 14

** Uhuhu, just got myself **_**deep**_** into HetaOni :D I love it so much…so, so much…Well! Here's the (I assume) fourteenth chapter. Enjoy ;)**

**XXXX**

The day of the conference, Matthew had been discharged just a few hours before performance. He'd been told to take it easy and Francis had been given the task of, according to Alfred, stalk, Matthew. It had pulled a laugh out of both Francis and Matthew and he was glad he had made the moment less blue.

At the moment, Alfred was basically bouncing off of the walls in his excitement. As they entered, Alfred went off to immediately talk with everyone else, a few other new bands being present. Matthew was wheeled in after him, courtesy of Francis, Kiku and Arthur following after the two, carrying most of their equipment. The conference already provided a drum set, but not any synchronizers or piano keyboards.

"Alfred, get back over here and set down Kiku's keyboard backstage," Matthew called as they disappeared behind the curtain that lead backstage. As Matthew had called his hyper half-brother over, Alfred bid whoever he was talking to goodbye and sped off.

"Hi Mattie! Where to I set this down?" Alfred asked, a wide grin on his face.

"Calm down, right behind you with the rest of them," Matthew waved Alfred off as if shooing away a bug. Alfred adjusted his hold on the keyboard, which was over his shoulder, and turned without thinking about what could come out of his choice.

_Thunk!_

"Ow! Damn it, watch where you're going with that! _Merde!_" Alfred turned to apologize to Francis, but ended up whacking Arthur on the side of his head.

"Gods Alfred! Be careful!" Alfred turned once more and this time Francis ducked under the oncoming attack, wailing 'stand still!' as he did so. "Just give me that," Arthur growled, prying the keyboard from Alfred's grip and storming off, carrying it in a more proper position.

The three stood there before Francis wheeled Matthew in the opposite direction Arthur was walking. Alfred was left there, not exactly sure what do to. Shrugging his shoulders, Alfred dashed off to talk with other people.

Matthew told Francis that he was going to talk with some other people. Although he wanted to 'aww' at the pouty face Francis made, Matthew simply smiled and tugged at the collar of Francis's shirt. The two shared a short kiss and Matthew wheeled himself off, approaching a Chinese boy around his age holding a violin. He looked like the violinist his mother had recommended.

"Hello," Matthew grinned shyly, not used to introducing himself to others. The boy looked down and his expression brightened up at the sight of Matthew.

"Ah! Hello there," the boy grinned and the two shook hands. "Wang Yao," he introduced himself and Matthew smiled. This was the violinist his mother had recommended a few weeks ago.

"Matthew Williams, yeah, my mom recommended you," Matthew smiled, resting his hand in his lap. "Came over 'cause you looked familiar," he added.

"Awesome, I'm willing to join you anytime you're from…err…no wait, I got it…_The United Nations_?" Yao glanced down at Matthew, a hopeful smile on his face. "I got it right, right?" he then asked, Matthew reassuring him that he got it right. "Cool! You guys like…came out of nowhere! Oh, and I also play cello, the flute and piano just so you know."

Matthew and Yao began talking together about how their bands came to be. Looking over, Matthew spotted Francis arguing with another guitarist, though in a slightly friendly way.

"Ah, don't worry about Antonio, he's just…really strange about his guitar skills," Yao grinned down at Matthew who smiled back.

"Dude, I'm probably _way_ better than you!" Antonio grinned, his guitar hanging around his shoulders while Francis was holding his by the neck. "Just because you guys got a lucky break and got super famous overnight doesn't mean that you're any good," he continued, tilting his chin up in the air.

"Shut up, of course I'm better than you," Francis countered, his grip tightening on the neck of his guitar. The two continued arguing heatedly and rather comically. Matthew swore that the two somehow knew each other with how they were going at it.

"Hell, I'm better than that British guy that's with you! And he's obviously better than you," Antonio crossed his arms over his chest. "Dude, I'm way better than however many guitarists you have!" he grinned.

"What the hell are you two arguing about?" Arthur questioned, eyebrows furrowed as he approached the two.

"This guy says he's better than us!" Francis pointed at Antonio like a child would. Arthur frowned and looked as if he were sizing Antonio up who still had his arms crossed, a confident look in his eyes. "Obviously I'm better than both of you though."

"And what makes you say that?"

Matthew chuckled at the sight of the three guitarists that were now arguing over who was better than the other. Those three looked ridiculous too, all three of them trying to talk over the other. He grinned up at Alfred as the American approached him, sending a confused look at the three arguing guitarists.

"What're they at each other's necks for?" Alfred asked, pointing at them. "No, let me guess…uh…never mind, what're they actually arguing about?" Alfred continued.

"They're just arguing over who's a better player than the other," Matthew sighed, smiling none the less. Alfred grinned and strolled over to the three before slinging his arms around Arthur and Francis's shoulders, greeting the three loudly. Antonio quieted and stared at Alfred, one eyebrow raised.

"'M Alfred F. Jones if you don't know me, but you should know me since I'm like, super famous," Alfred gave Antonio two thumbs up, jabbing his thumbs into the sides of Arthur and Francis's heads. "Who're you?"

"Antonio, no need for a last name, you'll learn it sooner or later since I'm going to get super famous too! So, you're the Alfred guy from _The United Nations_?" Antonio answered. Alfred nodded at the question aimed at him and grinned once more when an idea struck him.

"Dudes, you should have a…a…guitar off or something like that!" Alfred grinned, pulling his two band mates closer. Francis and Arthur both pulled away from Alfred.

"That is a good idea, come on! Let's go!" Francis was about to run off backstage to grab Arthur's guitar, but was stopped when the conference started, the host of it introducing the topic. Everyone sat at their own seats at separate tables, most of them sitting with their own band mates, a few hanging out with different band members though.

They were to perform one song each at the end of the conference. Unfortunately, _The United Nations_ go last, thus, leaving Alfred to rot in his own boredom. He had tried to sit and listen to what they were presenting, but couldn't. All he knew was that it was about music obviously.

Antonio was a pretty good guitarist too. Matthew had assumed that it was just a whole bunch of empty confidence, but the guy was actually pretty good. Almost on par with Arthur and Francis, but he still thought that his band mates were better. Hah, he was probably being biased though.

When it was finally their turn, Alfred had almost fallen asleep, Matthew having to shake him awake. As they stepped up on stage, Alfred having to wheel Matthew up the steps since they didn't have a ramp, they got help from some other people present with getting the keyboard out and settled along with adjusting a few dials.

They had practiced All To Myself extensively giving that Matthew had wound back up in the hospital and they had been told about the conference late. They only had three days to rehears.

Alfred, standing at the microphone next to Arthur who stood by the second microphone, gave Matthew and Francis a thumbs up over his shoulder. Alfred would be singing the first verse and Arthur the second, both singing the chorus. Alfred had agreed to let Arthur be the tenor in the chorus.

Francis started them off, Alfred following not too long after. When they got to the chorus, Alfred peeked over at Arthur, noting how the other looked as if he were speaking from the heart. And for a brief moment, Arthur looked over at Alfred and their eyes met, though he broke the contact the second it was created.

Francis watched from behind, grinning to himself as he watched the two singers in front of him. He suddenly wished that he could snap a picture, but it was likely it'd be in the newspapers, so all he could do was hope they got a good photo.

When they finished, Alfred whooped, grinning at every single person that served as their audience. Many looked impressed and even admiring of their performance, many standing as they applauded their performance, a few whistles being blown here and there. His grin widened and he turned to look at his childhood friend who was to his right. Arthur stood slightly stiffly, twirling the microphone in one hand before placing it back on its stand.

"Artie that was so much fun!" he swooped Arthur into a hug and twirled him in wild circles. "We should do that kind of stuff more often!" Alfred ignored the words flying from Arthur's mouth and ended up having Kiku calm him down, the Japanese boy timidly telling Alfred that he should set Arthur down. Alfred set him down, but could hold back much longer and pulled Arthur into a tight hug, though their feet remained on the floor. "Iggy!"

"Where the hell did _that_ name come from?" Arthur growled as he tried to push away from the American. His face was growing a dark red from the looks their audience was giving them, most of them amused. "Alfred!"

"It just came to me!" Alfred grinned, refusing to let Arthur go. "Besides, believe it or not, it's much more fun to say than Artie!" he continued.

"It has no relation to my real name you git!" Arthur barked, pushing at Alfred's chest, coming to the conclusion that he was trapped. "Let me go Alfred! This is embarrassing!" he continued, punching a fist into Alfred's chest, though the America didn't budge.

"Yes it kinda does!" Alfred finally pulled away, though his hands remained on Arthur's shoulders as if to keep him from running away. "Kiku told me what England is in Japanese and the word Iggy just came to me!" Alfred grinned triumphantly and Arthur stared blankly at his childhood friend. He was starting to doubt that he was able to get along with Alfred back then. Their friendship just didn't make any sense anymore.

"Why the hell did you want to know what England was in Japanese?" Arthur cocked an impressive eyebrow up at Alfred.

Alfred huffed and pouted, finally letting go of Arthur to cross his arms over his chest. "Come on, you can't blame me for being curious," he grumbled. "Besides, France, Canada and America just sounded too similar to the English names of the countries—England just sounded super cool!"

"Just don't use it anymore, it sounds like a dog's name…" Arthur huffed, turning around to leave, the stares he was receiving finally getting to him. Matthew wheeled over to Alfred and stopped at his cousin's side.

"Iggy?"

"Shut up, don't hate on me for it…" Alfred pouted, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Matthew just smiled. "Nah…I never would've thought of something as creative as that. Good job," and he wheeled off stage with the help of Francis. Alfred took a second to realize that he should probably leave too giving that the rest of his band mates were already seated in the audience. And what did Matthew mean by good job?

It took about fifteen minutes to wind the conference down. Alfred had almost fallen asleep once more, but was woken up by Kiku who announced that they should pack up and leave. Nodding, he stood, stretched his arms high above his head and strolled over to the makeshift stage, helping a few other people with cords.

"Hey, I found that violinist mom recommended a few weeks ago by the way, it was that Chinese boy I was speaking with before the conference," Matthew announced, Alfred mildly interested in what his cousin was saying. "He's really nice and I think it would be great if we feature him sometime," Matthew continued.

"Awesome, yeah, I know a few songs we could have him join us in," Alfred grunted as he lifted up an amplifier and handed it to one of the stage crew members who loaded it onto a cart. "What was his name? Wao?"

"Yao Alfred. His name is Yao," Matthew corrected. "Wang Yao if you want his full name."

"Why isn't he Wang? No, no never mind, that's just weird. Ha, ha…Wang," Alfred lapsed into his own little world, chuckling and mumbling to himself as he untangled cords and unplugged them. Matthew shook his head slowly and resumed with helping as much as he could with him being handicapped.

When they finally finished, almost everyone had left. Alfred straightened out from his crouched position and clapped his hands together, a grin settling on his features.

"Alright guys, let's roll out!" Alfred announced.

They all walked out to their vehicles, Alfred helping Kiku get the piano keyboard into the trunk of his car before going over to his truck and seating himself in the driver's seat. They had agreed on hanging out at Matthew's for the night and watch movies or just have fun in general. Alfred and Arthur were in Alfred's truck, Francis and Matthew were in Francis's fancy French car and Kiku rode alone. Alfred sometimes offered Kiku a lift, claiming that it was eco-friendly, but the Japanese boy had turned Alfred down, saying that he preferred the solitude.

"So Iggy—"

"Don't call me that."

"So Iggy," Alfred grinned when Arthur let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "What do you want to do tonight? I want to watch scary movies! It'll be so much fun! And then we can play videogames with Kiku and kick Matthew's ass! It'll be so much fun!" Alfred started the engine to the truck and drove off as he said all of that.

"No Alfred, we are not watching scary movies, you're such a wuss after watching them, you can't even handle the beginning of one," Arthur sighed, rubbing his forehead. Alfred pouted, but refused to take his eyes off of the road—he had some pretty damn precious cargo here.

"Come on Iggy! I swear, it's you who gets scared! I-I'm not the one who freaks out!" Alfred tried to defend, but failed miserably. Arthur rolled his eyes and peered out the window at the scenery that passed them by.

"No," was all he said after a moment of silence. Alfred just sucked it up and pouted while driving.

When they finally arrived at Matthew's house, they unloaded all of their equipment and placed them in the music room Matthew's mother was working on for them. It was basically empty and had five outlets in the walls. After making sure nothing would topple over, they headed over to the television, Alfred wanting to watch a scary movie, Kiku wanting to play videogames and Matthew wanting to watch the hockey game.

Francis and Arthur watched the three…more like Matthew and Alfred…argue over what they'd be doing. The two rivals blankly glanced at each other before looking back at the chaos that was their band mates.

So they all ended up playing videogames, mainly fighting games. They would take turns, one person sitting out each round. Alfred and Kiku always ended up kicking everyone's asses in the game, so they ended up having to pit them against each other in a team, Alfred wanting to play with Arthur and Kiku choosing Matthew giving that Francis was an epic failure at videogames according to Arthur. Francis shot back that he didn't even know that England had anything up to date. The two ended up fighting each other physically before Arthur was dragged back into the game to start the second round.

After about three hours of videogame mayhem, they had finally gotten bored and decided to watch a movie. Alfred had begged to watch a scary movie, but everyone knew better than to let Alfred watch a scary movie—especially one with ghosts. So they ended up watching a crime/mystery type. Arthur and Matthew got so absorbed into the movie that Francis and Alfred had decided to play a prank on the two.

Alfred put toast into the toaster and began the process of burning it. Once he gave Francis the positive, the French teen began wailing about the house being on fire. Chaos erupted and Francis somehow wound up in the washing machine and half of Alfred hanging out of the second story window, giggling like mad.

Matthew was pretty damn scary and went 'wheelchair ninja' on them according to Alfred. Francis had to move his body in awkward positions in order to get out of the washing machine, getting a leg cramp on the way. Alfred had to wait for Francis to save him though.

XXXX

**Merde – Damn it**

** Damn, this chapter's WAY too short…Oh well, hopefully I can make it up for it in the next chapter…Hope you liked it :) It isn't proof read though, just so you know, man, I may never proof read any of these chapters ever again with how consistent I'm being with not proofing them… Oh well, please review, love to hear what you have to think and peace out my friends :)**


	15. Chapter 15

** Hello guys, I'm back ;) Uhuhu, I **_**know**_** you'll like this chapter—if you don't well…you have all right to shoot me through your computer screen somehow ;) Enjoy.**

**XXXX**

They had been invited to a party Roderich was hosting and he was a very, _very_ prestigious pianist, so they couldn't say no. Well…Kiku couldn't. And much to their luck, they recognized a whole bunch of people. Kiku had immediately spotted Yao and walked over to talk with him, having heard about the Chinese boy who was willing to collaborate with them.

Matthew hovered around the large house, not finding any area of the house very comfortable with how loud the music was and how many people there were. He could hear Roderich arguing with someone about the music being too loud, but the other simply laughed it off—Matthew assumed the person the pianist was yelling at was a friend.

He had noted that there was only one room that remained empty and Roderich had said that you could only go in if you needed a break from the people, the music or both. It was currently empty and he considered going in to have some time to himself when he spotted a tan boy holding a pair of drumsticks, showing a few others how he played. Mildly interested, Matthew approached the boy, who could've been Cuban, Spanish or Mexican.

"You play drums?" Matthew asked, earning a few strange looks. "Err…sorry if I'm interrupting, I'll just go," he pointed a thumb over his shoulder and began to leave when the boy laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder, making Matthew jump a bit.

"No, no! You're fine my friend. I'm just showing a few air riffs to these guys," Matthew turned to look at the wide grin stretching at the boy's lips. Matthew himself smiling back and he turned to properly face the other. Alfred then approached Matthew, slinging an arm around Matthew's shoulders.

"Ah! Now who do we have here?" he grinned. Matthew hadn't even gotten the boy's name yet. "I saw you doin' some air drums or whatever they're called," Alfred continued, poorly imitating a drummer. "You play?"

"Yes _mi amigo_," the drummer answered, cocking an eyebrow at the American singer. Matthew could tell that the guy didn't really like Alfred from the start. "I also play steel drums in case you needed to know."

"Whoa! You mean those ones that don't even sound like the metal you're hitting? Dude, those are _so_ cool!" Alfred piped, excitement radiating off of him. The drummer sent Matthew a strange look at all he could do was shake his head slowly before placing a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "Yes Mattie?" he asked, turning to grin at his half-brother.

Matthew smiled dully at Alfred. "Uh…can you leave? We were kind of talking…" he requested, his dull smile never leaving. Alfred looked a little hurt for a brief moment before his smile returned and he bound off, yelling Kiku's name loudly over the bass of the music that was pulsating through the air. After watching his half-brother leave, Matthew sighed and looked back at the drummer standing next to him, giving him an apologetic look. "Sorry about that…he's…strange. Anyways, what band are you in? Err…or are you in any?"

"No band, but I collaborate with them," the boy's smile returned when they resumed chatting. "It's really nice, not too busy, yet not too uneventful," he continued. Matthew nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm in _The United Nations_, and it's pretty hectic, we just finished a conference and before that…err…" Matthew glanced at the rims of the wheels to his wheelchair. The boy's smile disappeared and he looked sympathetic. "Uh…! I-it's nothing too troubling! I'll be out by uh…I think they said December," Matthew frantically added, not liking the look the other had adopted.

Over in the kitchen, which was huge and packed mind you, Francis was talking with Antonio in a rather civil way unlike their last encounter. The two were drinking from bottles of water provided to Roderich's guests.

"Yeah, I'm the only one from my band that actually came…talk about disappointing, but I'll suck it up for now," Antonio shrugged his shoulders. "By the way, what are your band members like? I didn't really take enough time at the conference to pay attention…oh and sorry about that, I was just a little…overconfident since we had just performed earlier," Antonio stopped himself before he could ramble.

"My friends? Well, I guess I could start with Alfred, the singer with that annoying cowlick, I swear, someday I'll find a shampoo that will keep that thing down," Francis shook his head. "He's a dense, lovable dunce," Francis continued with a smile. "Very dense," he added and Antonio snickered.

"_That_, I could pick up on at the conference."

"Let's see, then there's Kiku, the Japanese boy, he's pretty okay, quiet and reserved, but okay," Antonio nodded, urging for Francis to continue. "Then there's Arthur, obviously you've seen and heard of him since you mentioned him in our argument before he even showed up—he's…what do I have to say? I guess I could say he's a hot-headed British teen with too many troubles hanging over him like a storm cloud," Francis took at swig of his water.

"I could also pick up on that in our argument, boy, he's pretty quick with his words—I could barely keep up!" Antonio admitted, laughing.

"Yeah, he's got a quick wit, sometime I wish Alfred were like that, but then again, it wouldn't be Alfred if he carried that trait now would it?" Francis smiled fondly. He liked his friends more than he let on and if Alfred or Arthur heard that he'd said all of this, he might have to kill himself. Never would he want them to hear what he was saying now. "And Matthew is shy and quiet…well…used to be, ever since we got this band thing going on, he's gaining more confidence. So, how about you? What're your friends like?"

"Ha, ha!" Antonio started laughing and Francis began to wonder he should call a mental hospital. "I just noticed how alike Feliciano and Alfred are!" he grinned. "The poor boy is dense, yet lovable. The only difference is that he isn't as loud, more like…very, very optimistic. He's our guitarist and pianist, though he plays piano more often, so we have to collaborate a shit load," Antonio sighed. "And Lovino's his twin brother! Aren't Alfred and Matthew twin brothers?"

"Half-brothers."

"Whatever, but isn't it such a coincidence how similar the four are? Well…Lovino's nothing like Matthew, he's loud and hot-headed and quick to yell at someone and, and, so many things!" Antonio threw his arms up into the air, though Francis didn't miss the adoring twinkle in the Spaniard's eyes. Antonio let his arms fall to his sides and he grinned widely. "He's our drummer, he takes his anger out on those," he added.

Alfred, Kiku and Yao were currently conversing over what songs Yao could collaborate with them on. The two Asians had suggested a few songs Alfred had never heard of and Yao seemed to like a few of Alfred's choices. It was slightly difficult, but they concluded that they'd have Yao team up with them for two songs for a concert they were going to attend next week.

After their talk, Kiku and Yao walked off to talk with different people, leaving Alfred alone. With a sigh and an accomplished grin, Alfred strolled around the large house, admiring its tidiness and fanciness. He assumed it was Austrian, but then again, it could be anything in Alfred's mind. He was about to return to the bulk of the party when he spotted Arthur sitting alone in the room that had been reserved for those who needed some alone time.

Slapping on a grin, Alfred strolled in. "Hiya Artie! What are you doing here all alone?" he greeted loudly, making Arthur visibly jump slightly.

"I prefer the quiet over the party," Arthur answered without turning to face Alfred. Alfred cocked his head along with an eyebrow. Why would you want to miss out on such a social event? It was so much fun!

"You're such a party pooper you know that?" Alfred grinned, lifting his head back into its proper position before seating himself next to Arthur. A wordless silence settles in between them, the sounds of the party seemingly distant although it was almost literally right behind their backs. "So uh…what're you going to do when you get home?" Alfred asked, turning to look at his childhood friend.

"Well, I did promise that I'd help Matthew clean his house giving his condition," Arthur started.

"No, no, I meant home, home…like…like back in England," Alfred shook his head before pushing his glasses back up his nose, staring intently at Arthur.

"I'd have a cup of tea," was Arthur's quick answer.

Alfred grinned widely at that. "You're so boring Artie you know?" he snickered. Arthur huffed and crossed his arms moodily, not exactly fancying Alfred's reply.

"Shut up, it's completely fine to be _boring_ like me," he said, looking at Alfred with intense green eyes. Alfred grinned and poked Arthur's cheek, drawing out the word 'boring' in a sing-song voice. Arthur slapped Alfred's hand away and pouted on the other side of the couch, gaze averted to the boring pattern etched into the rug their feet were resting on. "Why? What would you do if I asked you that question and we were somewhere other than America? I'm sure you'd eat a hamburger first thing and then probably go off to say hello to Kiku," Arthur fumed, his gaze stuck on the pattern on the rug, not noticing the shift in weight applied to the couch cushions.

"Arthur."

"Wha—" Arthur was cut off when a pair of lips met his. His fingers twitched one and then twice before he violently shoved Alfred away from him, the America falling backwards and off of the couch, his head hitting the floor.

"Ow! What was that for?" he wailed, rubbing the back of his head.

"What was tha—Alfred, I should be the one asking _you_ that question!" Arthur barked, pressing his back into the corner of the couch as if attempting to sink into the piece of furniture. "Are you serious? You just go around kissing people for the fun of it don't you?" he questioned, pointing an accusing finger at the teen on the floor.

"What are you talking about Arthur? I was just—"

"No Alfred, if we ever, e_ver_ get into a relationship, which mind you, I _severely doubt_, it would never work," Arthur cut in. "Giving our positions, it'll only hurt us," he continued, narrowing his eyes at Alfred.

"No way! What makes you assume that?"

"_Assume_? Alfred, I _know_! Look at us! We're famous, the tabloids would _never_ leave us alone, we've got rabid fangirls and possibly boys probably stalking us right now and to top it off, we'd have to support a _long distance relationship!_ Do you know what that means? Two different people from two different countries getting together and that's tough, but with this added fame thing, it'd be impossible to find time for each other—our schedules wouldn't allow it," he took a breath to continue. "Plus, I'm sure I'd be stalked back in England as well, that would be a problem and, and…just get it through your head that we'll never be able to be together okay?" Arthur concluded.

After thinking it over, Arthur realized that his infatuation with Alfred was also pointless. He had just killed hope for both of them, whether he realized it earlier or not. He just came up with all of this off of the top of his head.

Alfred, on the other hand, snorted, stood and turned to walk off. "You have no faith dude," he said and started walking. Arthur twitched at that and he stood up.

"_You're just too thick headed to see any reason in what I had just said!_" and Alfred stopped before spinning on his heel, striding back over to Arthur. He was about to say something with someone interrupted them. Alfred flinched and turned before mentally breathing a sigh of relief to see that it was just Matthew.

"I heard everything you two said…Alfred…could you…could you please leave so I can talk with Arthur?" Matthew asked, slightly nervous since an angry Alfred was pretty damn scary.

"Tch…make sure you reinforce the fact that he has no faith," and he left.

"You damn—!"

"Arthur," Matthew sat down on the couch and pat the cushion next to him. Arthur clenched and unclenched his fists, just wanting to smack something. After a bit of deep breaths, Arthur sat down next to Matthew, the anger though, still flickered in his eyes vividly. "I heard, but I didn't see. So…what happened?" Matthew then asked after a brief moment of silence.

"The damn git kissed me. I mean, are you serious? He just hands them out like coupons," Arthur ground out.

"He acted on impulse."

"Better get that checked," Arthur spat, glaring at Matthew who refused to shy away. An angry Arthur was scarier than an angry Alfred. "And that's exactly why Alfred can't hold a relationship," he added, crossing his arms almost childishly.

Matthew shook his head, that one lone curl waving back and forth. "No, Alfred's too determined to lose a relationship."

"I really doubt that Matthew," Matthew frowned at Arthur's words and he sighed.

"He was depressed."

"Excuse me?"

"He was depressed you left for England," Matthew's smile was sad and nostalgic. Arthur was quiet and a little shocked, though it was expected for one to be down when they just had their best friend move somewhere far away. "Like…really depressed."

_ Matthew, Alfred and their father were driving home from the airport, having just seen Arthur off at the security lines. The car was locked in a horrible silence, Alfred unable to say something and Matthew and his father having nothing to say. They were eleven years old then._

_ "Hey Al, you want to get some McDonald's on the way home? My treat," their father offered, turning to smile the best he could at his child in the back seat before immediately returning his attention to the road in front of him to drive. Alfred remained silent and this was a first, Alfred never, _never_ turned down McDonald's and here he was, likely turning it down wordlessly. So they continued home._

_ When they got home, Alfred had headed upstairs and holed himself into Matthew's room, probably without knowing it. A few hours passed and Matthew soon had to go into his room to get something. Summer had just started and Matthew had grown bored and most of his sources of entertainment were locked in his room with a sulking Alfred. _

_ "Hey Al…please come out just for a few minutes, I need to get a few things," Matthew knocked on the door lightly. When he got no response, Matthew knocked again, this time a little harder. "Al, this is my room, go in the guest room please," he almost begged. There was more silence and he was about to knock again and yell this time when the sound of the lock being unlocked made itself known and the door opened to reveal his half-brother. Matthew could clearly see the dry tear tracks that were present on the boy's cheeks and his shoulders slumped. "Al were you crying?"_

_ "No I wasn't," he grunted and trudged off to the guest room, his pace agonizingly slow. Matthew, now finding no appeal in the items his room held, followed Alfred and placed a small hand on his half-brother's forearm, him being too short to place it on the other's shoulder. _

_ "Are you sad because Arthur left?" Matthew tilted his head to the side. Alfred remained silent before looking down at Matthew with sad eyes._

_ "Sure, I guess you could say that, not only that, but I'm sure I'd never see him again, I mean—he's going to England! That's…that's like…in…in Asia!" Alfred huffed, hanging his head in defeat. _

_ Matthew smiled none the less. "Al, England's in Europe, not Asia," Matthew corrected with a soft smile. "And I'm sure you'll see him again, like, you could have him come over," Matthew continued, trying to get Alfred to cheer up at least in the slightest. It only made the boy more blue._

_ "No I won't," he stubbornly huffed and entered the guest room, jumping up on the bed, Matthew following after him. "He was my bestest friend in the whole wide world Mattie…I don't know what to do now…" he wiped at his eyes, the waterworks returning with having to talk about it. "He'll probably forget about me…"_

Matthew's sad, nostalgic smile never left. "It took him until late last year, around Christmas, go bounce back to normal…like, completely.

"I don't even know why you told me all of that," Arthur grumbled, his arms crossed in a stubborn way.

"It kind of shows how much losing someone important to Alfred would affect him. He knows it'll hurt, so he's too determined to cut it in the first place. Man, he convinced himself that he'd never see you again," Matthew shook his head. "Even if his oblivious generosity will lead people on, he's too nice, hell, he almost bought an airplane ticket to England when he was fourteen Arthur, that's determination I tell you," Matthew's smile turned fond.

Arthur thought over it now that Matthew had cleared a few things up for him. Alfred had almost bought a plane ticket to England, he didn't know where he lived in England and he was willing to do it alone. It was stupid, but it showed how badly Alfred wanted to see Arthur again. Now he felt guilty for not contacting him at all during the large gap of time from when he left to when he came back this summer.

"Thanks for telling me that…I think I really needed to know that…" Arthur smiled the best he could at Matthew and stood up.

"Now where are you going?"

"I'm going to clear things up with Alfred," Arthur answered over his shoulder. Matthew nodded his head and Arthur continued off to find his childhood friend.

He soon found the American talking with Antonio. What it was about, he had no idea, but Arthur waved Alfred over when the other noticed him standing a bit of a distance from them. He watched Alfred's eyebrows furrow before he excused himself and walked over to Arthur.

"What do you want?" he asked, stopping in front of Arthur, his voice bitter. Arthur refused to back down, Alfred easily towering over him. When had the other gotten so tall? Last time he saw him when he lived in America, Arthur was clearly three inches taller than Alfred. Now it seemed to be the opposite.

"I want to say that I'm sorry for saying all of that stuff earlier…I was…I was just scared," Arthur admitted, though with a bit of difficulty.

"Why would you be scared?" Alfred questioned with a slightly bitter, forced laugh.

"I was scared of having my heart broken," Arthur barked, peeved at the laugh Alfred had the nerve to do.

"Wha—why would your heart be broken?" Alfred's bitterness had dissolved into confusion and probably even hurt.

"Even though I'm sorry for what I said earlier, doesn't mean that it's all not true. It'd be extremely difficult to support a relationship with everything we have to deal with," Arthur explained, furrowing his eyebrows up at Alfred. After a long moment of silence, Arthur assumed that he was being rejected and he sighed. "I'm sorry…I'll just leave," he turned to leave, but was prevented from doing so when Alfred grabbed ahold of Arthur's shoulder and spun him around, pulling him into a gentle hug.

When they separated, Alfred smiled down at Arthur.

"Hey Arthur."

"What?" Arthur's cheeks dusted a slight pink when Alfred used his real name.

"Get ready to see us all over the tabloids," then he leaned down to kiss Arthur. And this time, Arthur didn't push him away.

XXXX

**Mi amigo – My friend**

** Holy shit, I just took the SemeUke quiz and was a Clueless Uke…goes off to sulk in a corner. WAI! WAI DO IT HAF 2 B SO ACCURATE? The explanation thing sort of fit me…which kind of scares me…it even got the video games part right…**

** Ha, ha, anyways, you like? I do ;) Their first kiss my friends, and it isn't even close to ending, doesn't that make you happy :D Well, please review, I really love to hear what you guys have to say. Peace out my friends :)**


	16. Chapter 16

** Allo friends ;) Be warned, this chapter might end up being pretty short…and boring…So enjoy ;)**

**XXXX**

"What are you grinning about?" Matthew asked as he wheeled himself into his room. Francis looked up at him from his laptop and said nothing as he turned the device so Alfred's half-brother could see what was on the screen. He figured that Francis would be grinning about what was on the screen the second he saw it. Apparently someone had managed to snap a photo of Alfred and Arthur kissing at yesterday's party and leaked it; it wasn't a surprise, the camera part, but Matthew hadn't expected for the two to make up to each other so quickly. "They're claiming that Alfred and Arthur are officially together…"

"Well it's expected," Francis grinned, bookmarking the page to the 'Alfred and Arthur' folder before surfing the internet for more. "Why? They're claiming that we're together as well, are we not together _mon amour_?" he then questioned, sending an expression to Matthew that was clearly fake disappointment.

Matthew flushed slightly at that. "Uh…Ye-yes…we are together…" Matthew admitted, being pulled into a hug which was soon followed by a kiss which he melted into.

Alfred watched in amusement as he watched Arthur fret over the cellular in his hands whilst complaining about how people got ahold of his number and email. Bot voice mail and email boxes were filled and he was currently deleting messages only to get a new one.

"Damn fucking—!" Arthur hissed, tossing his cellular at the wall in front of him. Alfred laughed and sat up from his position on one of the guest beds. "How in bloody hell did they get ahold of my number and email anyway?" he continued, sending a helpless yet peeved look at Alfred.

"Not sure, Francis probably leaked that to the public," Alfred chuckled. Francis probably was the one who gave Arthur's contacts to the entire country of America. "It's very likely and he's the kind of guy that would do that," he winked, flashing Arthur a toothy grin when the Brit's cheeks turned a light shade of red.

"Don't _wink_ at me, you're reminding me of Francis," Arthur grumbled, turning to look at the damaged cell phone on the floor. He looked back at Alfred when he felt the other hug him from behind, arms wrapping around his waist. "Alfred…"

"Shh…I think I have even more emails and voice mails that you anyways…I'm the lead singer, remember?" Alfred pointed out, his breath hot on Arthur's ear. Arthur closed his eyes and craned his head to the side for a kiss from Alfred.

"Aww…getting comfy are we?" the two jumped apart, Arthur falling flat on his face on the floor, half of his body still on the bed while his abdomen up was floored—literally. His position was none other than comical. Francis burst into hysterical laughter as he entered the guest room, Alfred sending Francis a look that clearly read 'oh, you did not just interrupt me'. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" Francis grinned.

"Hell yeah you're interrupting!" Alfred whined, pounding his fists into his crossed legs.

"Francis, you bloody bastard!" Arthur barked as he stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of his pants and shirt. "You could at least knock!" he continued, sending Francis a look that would've set the French teen on fire if there were such thing as magical powers.

"The door wasn't shut…" Francis replied, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the open doorway. Arthur frowned before huffing moodily, crossing his arms as he plopped himself onto the second guest bed, away from Alfred who was clearly pouting. "Alfred put on your glasses, you're looking a little too far to the right," Francis added once he noted that Alfred was looking at the wall behind him.

"Really?" the American questioned, scratching at the top of his head before reaching for his glasses, his hand hitting the space next to them before actually making contact with them. "Jeez, sight must be getting worse…" Alfred continued as he shoved his glasses onto his face, feeling a little better once he could see things clearly. "Better?" he asked, looking at Francis.

"Yes, now you don't look like you're talking to an imaginary friend," Francis nodded his head. "Oh, and check this out," Francis grinned, pulling the laptop out from under his armpit and opening it. He then turned it around to show the two the news highlights. "Tabloids love you, and congratulations," and his grin only widened at how red Arthur got.

"I knew that'd happen and thank you," Alfred nodded as he read a bit of the text. "That obviously explains all of the emails and voice mails," he continued.

"Francis you're acting like a fanboy," Arthur grumbled, forcing the blush away.

Francis only grinned in his direction. "What if I am?"

"Hey, guys, we've got a concert in six days, got any song suggestions?" Alfred changed the subject, an oblivious grin stuck to his face. Francis and Arthur were slightly thrown off at the sudden change in topic, but played along anyways.

"I was thinking we could play Stranger by Secondhand Serenade," Arthur suggested before turning red at the 'aww' noise Alfred made.

"Iggy, yer such a sap!" Alfred grinned, jumping off of his bed and half tackling Arthur. Arthur clearly didn't approve since Francis was in the same room before reprimanding Alfred for calling him 'Iggy'.

"What's wrong with that suggestion?" Arthur grumbled after a bit of struggling to get Alfred off of him.

"Absolutely nothing!" Alfred's grin only got bigger and Arthur felt like he was getting nowhere. "We can play that song," he continued enthusiastically as Matthew appeared behind Francis at the doorway, looking a bit confused from all of the noise the three were making. "Hey Mattie, concert in six days, got any suggestions?" Alfred aimed his attention at his handicapped relative.

"Uh…how about 'I Know How to Say' by 30 Seconds to Mars? I really like it and thought we should play it sooner or later…"

"Yeah! I love the '_Aishiterou, te amo, I love you, je t'aime'_ part! Kiku can say the first one, Iggy and I can say the 'I love you', you can say your French stuff and Mattie can do Spanish since he seemed interested in it a while ago!" Alfred piped excitedly. "It'll be awesome!" he added, looking at the other three band members for approval.

Francis grinned. "Of course, that's a great idea," he looked slyly over at Arthur who was sending him that look that would set him on fire. Then he snapped his fingers as if remembering something. "Oh! I forgot to tell you guys since I was diverted by the tabloids! You know how Matthew's mother is off to Berlin and is getting us a temporary manager?" the three nodded. "Well! Turns out that manager has scheduled a tour for us! Like—all of America!" Francis grinned.

The three were too shocked to speak.

"…Dude…that…is…a_wesome!_" Alfred's megawatt smile appeared. "Holy shit! _All_ of America? Like, from east to west?" Alfred continued, sending Francis an excited look.

"Wai-wait a minute, do any of your parents approve? Because this is kind of sudden," Arthur jumped in before Alfred could continue.

"Nah, I'm sure they're totally fine with it," Francis waved his hand as if waving away smoke. "It starts August 8th and ends September 12th just so you guys know—first stop is in Las Vegas, Nevada," he continued, completely ignoring Arthur's earlier question which peeved the Brit.

"Cool! We're going to Las Vegas _and_ skipping the first week of school!" Alfred pumped a fist into the air. "Thank you so much for telling me Francis!" Alfred continued, jumping off of the bed and pulling Francis into a death hug, twirling the French teen in circles.

"Alfred—! Can't breathe!" Francis wheezed, closing his eyes in an attempt to avoid watching the guest room spin around and around. He was finally let down and had to hold onto the dresser next to him so he didn't fall over.

"I'm leaving August 28th, so I can't stay for the whole thing," Arthur pointed out, slightly killing Alfred's excitement. The next few moments were filled with Alfred complaining about Arthur not being able to stay for the whole tour and how he didn't want for the Brit to leave so soon. Matthew simply watched from the sidelines, unable to find a space to jump in at and not exactly wanting to jump in at all.

"The tour starts right after the concert that's coming up on the seventh, so we should really get ready for it," Matthew finally found a spot to jump in after long moments of Alfred complaining, Arthur trying to tell the other that he had no choice and Francis muttering to himself in French about Alfred being a rough hugger and how he didn't understand how Arthur could handle him.

"Agreed!" Alfred jumped back to being excited immediately. "So let's get started right now, we should get a lot of songs organized for all of this," he continued, standing up to grab his iPod. "I got a huge list of songs and you guys can use your music too! Let's make a list!" Alfred informed as he snatched his iPod from the nightstand. "For the concert on the seventh, we already had Strange and I Know How to Say—any other suggestions? We one or two more. Oh, hey, where's Kiku? We need to tell him all of this great news!"

"I overheard him making plans with our soundboard guy," Francis grinned.

"What's his name? I never got it at the Fourth of July concert…" Alfred asked. "Uh…it started with an 'H' right?"

"Yeah, his name's Heracles, nice name no?" Francis grinned.

"Like the Heracles from the movie?" Alfred grinned childishly. "That's so cool!" he continued after Francis nodded his head. He then chuckled. "Hah, didn't know Kiku had the hots for him," he winked as he whipped out his cellular, starting a new text message to their pianist.

XXX

Kiku extracted his cellular when he felt it vibrating in his pocket, apologizing to Heracles as he did so. He had brought the Greek boy to the Japanese restaurant he had brought Arthur and Matthew to the day Arthur had bought Matthew that Canadian flag along with Alfred that necklace. He then wondered if Arthur had given Alfred the necklace yet.

They had to get a few bodyguards to keep fans back, the part of the restaurant they were sitting in roped off. There were a few camera flashes going off, but that was all. The photos would obviously be leaked to the media and people would start to assume the two were a couple. A few fans tried to talk with Kiku, but he dutifully ignored them.

**[Alfred]**

**yo kiku! got a toor acrost america aftr th consert on the 7 haha didn now u had th hots 4 hercules guy ;) toor strts agust 8 and finshs sptember 12**

Kiku blushed at the later statement and pocketed his cellular. He then smiled shyly up at his guest, asking if he liked their brunch.

"It is good," Heracles simply stated, nodding his head calmly. Kiku nodded his head, stating how he was glad Heracles was enjoying it. "So what did Alfred say?" Heracles then asked, looking straight into Kiku's eyes.

"Ah," his cheeks turned a tad red—he could tell with the slight change in temperature. "We have a tour across America starting August eighth and ending September twelfth. Are you open for those dates?" Kiku continued, noticing that it slightly overlapped with school. Heracles looked lightly thoughtful about the information he had just received, his naturally calm expression mixing with it.

"Yes, I am open if my parents approve with the few days school's on," Heracles finally answered after a brief moment of silence. Kiku nodded his head contently and resumed eating his brunch. Kiku then extracted his phone and texted Alfred that their soundboard man was okay with going with them for the whole tour unless his parents object. It didn't take long for him to get a response.

XXX

Alfred grinned and set his cellular on the nightstand next to the guest bed. "He said Heracles's fine with coming unless his parents object. Sweet right? I think we have the whole crew coming along," Alfred grinned. "He didn't say anything about the me saying that he had he hots for Heracles though," Alfred continued, a disappointed look crossing over Francis's face.

"Gods, you two act like fanboys," Arthur sighed, shaking his head from side to side slowly. Matthew silently agreed with the Brit.

"What if we are?" Alfred and Francis asked at the same time, grins plastered to their faces. Arthur and Matthew simply sent each other helpless looks before glancing back at their boyfriends. "Come on guys, let's go to that restaurant Francis brought me to a while ago!" Alfred piped up soon after.

"Nah, don't want to deal with fans…" Matthew sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't want to deal with them either," Francis added. "Sorry Alfred, maybe Arthur would accompany you?" he grinned at his British rival who simply narrowed his eyes at Francis and scowled deeply.

"No," Arthur huffed.

"Daaw, you guys are now fun, fine, I'm going alone," Alfred huffed, standing up as he did so. "You guys don't know what you're missing," he added, his voice sounding like he was being privy with them and taunting his friends with it. They clearly didn't take the bait and Francis simply waved the American off.

"Don't worry, we're old men," Francis laughed at his own joke. Alfred chuckled as well and left.

XXXX

**Aishiterou – I love you**

**Te amo – I love you**

**Je t'aime – I love you**

**Muah, I told you it'd be short ;) Sorry for its shortness too. The next one hopefully will make up for it. This was just one of them boring filler kind of things I guess. So yep, yep, please review, I love to hear what you guys have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

** W00t, w00t, hi guys I'm back ;) Got any song suggestions? I'm running out of my favorite songs to use :P So other than that announcement, enjoy :)**

**XXXX**

"Kay guys, are we ready?" Alfred asked from his spot at the microphone. They were currently on the stage they'd be performing on tomorrow for the concert, on their last rehearsal. Right after tomorrows concert, they'd leave immediately for Nevada. Francis flashed the American a thumb up and Matthew along with Kiku and Arthur did the same. With a nod of his head, Francis started I Know How to Say.

When they finished it though, Alfred turned to face his friends, a slightly irritated look on his face. "No, no! We don't sound natural there!" Alfred huffed. When he said there, he meant by the 'I love you' lines. They had gone through with each of them saying it in the different languages separately save for Alfred and Arthur who shared the English part. "We sound…choppy! We…we don't _flow_!" he continued.

"Well sorry Alfred if we're not a river," Matthew bit. "Give it a rest and let's try again a bit later," he continued, furrowing his eyebrows at his irritated half-brother. The two were on their last nerves and the other three band members clearly didn't want to deal with the two look-alikes. "And do we have an order for the songs? Let's come up with one and then fix up that part of the song," he added, setting the drumsticks down.

Their conversations consisted mostly of irritated arguing since most of them were stressed with having so much rehearsal crammed into the little amount of time they had. But soon enough they figured out an order without ripping the other's wind pipes out. Matthew concluded that Alfred was a perfectionist when it came to ordering songs. They agreed on starting with Stranger, then going into Wavin' Flag, Check Yes Juliet and ending with I Know How to Say.

They returned to rehearsal, still a bit irritated, but calm enough to continue on with rehearsal civilly.

XXX

Francis seriously considered giving Alfred one of Matthew's anxiety pills as he watched the American pace back and forth, likely mulling over that one part they couldn't seem to get right during rehearsal. Arthur and Matthew were late too—let's not forget that. Kiku sighed and sunk into his seat backstage, looking exhausted as well.

"Please Alfred…let's just…be calm and not worry about it so much, it's stressful for all of us…" he muttered, though the chatter from the crowd on the other side of the curtain drowned his advice out. Alfred continued pacing, itching at his head every now and then along with tapping his thigh. "Alfred…"

"Iggy!" the two that were already present sighed in slight relief as Arthur and Matthew both arrived side by side. Alfred bound over to the two and swept Arthur into a hug. "Why're you two so late?" he then proceeded to question. Arthur, who had turned red at the American's actions, shoved Alfred off of him with a moody huff.

"A symbol sounded wrong on Matthew's drum set—we had to go buy another…can you believe how much they cost?" Arthur grumbled, plopping himself into the chair next to Kiku. "I just wish I could go to sleep right now…" he continued in a low mutter, one arm being thrown over his eyes for the stage lights glared down at him.

"Well duh they're expensive," he started as Matthew handed the new symbol to a stage crew member, telling him to replace the broken one. The man nodded and went off and Matthew returned his attention to his relative, boyfriend and friends. "Yeah me too…we can sleep on the bus ride to Nevada can't we?"

"It's only about an hour long _mon ami_," Francis sighed from the side. Huffing at the announcement, Alfred crossed his arms and stared up into the stage lights, Matthew reprimanding him for doing so.

"Man, we're all tired aren't we?" he sighed, letting his shoulders droop. "Let's just get this done with, we don't have a meet 'n' greet today either…going straight to the bus after this," Alfred announced, Matthew nodding.

A few minutes passed and eventually, they had to go out to perform, all of them slapping on fake smiles paired with fake enthusiasm just to make their fans worry-free. With a wave of his hand which was high in the air, Alfred grinned and greeted their audience overenthusiastically.

They started with Stranger like agreed and he could tell a majority of the girls in the crowd eyed both him and Arthur. He could also tell that Arthur was turning red from the attention, his lips pressed into a thin line, concentrating too much on his guitar. Mentally chuckling, Alfred continued his singing. He would send a glance back at Francis every now and then and would see that knowing look gleaming under the stressed expression he had managed to water down.

Then they transitioned into Wavin' Flag. The song was almost _The United Nation's_ theme song as much as it was FIFA 2010's. Since there was no guitar needed in the song, Francis had settled with going to that shop Kiku had brought Arthur and Matthew to and bought the biggest French flag they offered. He then proceeded to wave it around in a very patriotic way that made Alfred laugh. Arthur did vocals with Alfred, everyone clearly finding the opening phenomenally done. The string instrument that was in it though, was played by a guest. Alfred soon figured that he should've called Yao to do the job since the Chinese teen was a pretty cool guy.

Check Yes Juliet was also very fun. Especially the 'Lace up your shoes' line, because right after that line, Arthur and Francis would enthusiastically yell into their microphones 'ay-oh ay-ohoh' like in the song. Alfred loved their expressions of excitement during that part since the stress had long dissolved. Francis was their lead guitarist for this concert, so he was also jumping around on stage. It never got old, Alfred guaranteed that.

They closed the concert with I Know How to Say. It was really fun too with all of the different places mentioned in the song. Francis was given the 'We can French kiss through the border fences' just because it had the word French in it. When the 'I love you' bridge came, Alfred almost had a heart attack out of happiness with how it was executed without a hitch. When he and Arthur said 'I love you' and the same time, he grinned at how Arthur turned red once more and how the girls that were currently fangirling over the couple squealed, some looking disappointed that they didn't bring a video recorder of some sort.

When the song ended, Alfred grinned at their audience, waving them goodbye enthusiastically. Being hyped up on having just finished performing, Alfred grabbed Arthur's wrist, ignoring the squeals of fangirls as he did so, and drug the stuttering Brit off stage, his guitar still slung around his shoulder. Francis followed, telling the stage crew to load up Matthew's drum set and Kiku's keyboard and bring it to the tour bus waiting for them.

"C'mon guys, it's Vegas time!" Alfred piped excitedly, still dragging Arthur while Francis, Kiku and Matthew followed behind. They all jumped into their own vehicles, Matthew going with Francis and Arthur with Alfred and drove off to Matthew's home to pick up their luggage.

When they got there, Alfred stomped through the house and upstairs, grabbing Matthew's and his own suitcases before lugging them back down said steps without difficulty just as his handicapped relative entered his home.

"Slow down Alfred!" Matthew demanded, though there was a hint of amusement in the Canadian's voice. "I have to double check if I have everything," he continued.

"You can buy a tooth brush in Vegas, let's just go!" Alfred urged, wheeling Matthew back out of his house. Matthew obviously had no power to stop the American and simply allowed himself to be wheeled over to Alfred's truck, Arthur just stepping into Matthew's house to grab his stuff. Alfred helped Matthew into the front seat and folded up the wheelchair before tossing it crudely into the bed of the pickup. He really wanted to get a new car now that he was famous, but could never find the time in between rehearsals and avoiding fangirls. "Hurry up Iggy!"

"Don't call me that!" Arthur barked as he threw his suitcase into the bed of the truck as well and seated himself in the back seat, Alfred having started driving already when Arthur had just finished buckling his seat belt luckily. "Alfred!" he wailed, pulling the door shut with difficulty since Alfred rounded a corner just as he did so.

Alfred peered over his shoulder and flashed Arthur an excited grin before returning his gaze to the road in front of him. "Sorry Artie, just really excited!"

"Can you for once call me by my real name?" the guitarist sighed.

"Sorry Iggy! No can do!" Alfred's voice was sing-song and all Arthur could do is sigh again, this time it being more breathy and heavy. They pulled into a parking lot just as Francis and Kiku pulled in as well. Alfred, still grinning that excited grin of his, jumped out of the truck and pulled their luggage out without a problem.

"Hey guys, hurry up!" he urged, wheeling the suitcases over to the bus that was currently running. Arthur got out of his seat and lifted Matthew's wheelchair out of the bed, unfolding it and helping the other into the seat, Matthew thanking him for the assistance. Francis then wheeled Matthew over to the bus while Kiku approached the bus as well. Francis and Kiku's parents were there to drive their vehicles back to their homes, having received Matthew's address to drop Alfred's truck off at.

Arthur could see that Matthew's drum set and Kiku's keyboard along with stand were sitting by the bus, ready to be loaded in. He went over and helped Alfred with loading them in the large vehicle.

Kiku soon returned from the bus and hugged his mother goodbye while his father settled for a hand shake and after that, a bow. Matthew smiled and suddenly wished that his parents had come to see him off. His and Alfred's father had been forced to go off for his job since it called for his assistance spontaneously and his mother was off in Berlin. Alfred's mother wasn't able to see Alfred off for a reason Matthew didn't know. Francis's parents had found time in their busy schedules to see their son off along with Kiku's parents who weren't as busy.

After a lengthy goodbye, the five entered the bus and the driver nodded at them, the band doing the same before their driver started the bus up once more. Their parents waved them a temporary goodbye and Francis and Kiku returned the gesture.

"Ah, I'm going to miss home," Francis sighed, finally turning around to slump in his seat. The four were forced to tune out Alfred's excited jabbering. "_Maman_ was sad to hear I had to leave," he continued, a fond smile creeping into his features.

"Ah…mother looked slightly sad too. Father I think was proud," Kiku smiled. "He always wanted me to be a famous pianist. Not really a band member, but this is close enough," he continued. They fell into silence save for Alfred's babbling that had cease to silence as of yet.

"Oh! Hey guys, we need an order for these songs as well!" Alfred suddenly piped, catching only Kiku's attention who then alerted the others of what Alfred had said. "Were you guys even listening to me?" he then asked, cocking an eyebrow. Francis snickered, shaking his head in no along with Matthew. Alfred then sent a pouty puppy face to Arthur who rolled his eyes.

"No Alfred…you just have to learn to…quiet down," he proceeded to tell. Alfred huffed, crossing his arms and muttering about them 'being no fun'. "Now, we're trying to find an order for the songs being played tomorrow?"

Alfred perked up at the mention of the topic he had originally brought up. "Yeah!"

"Yao will join is in Madison, Wisconsin around the second half of the tour," Matthew announced and Alfred pouted, sending his half-brother a lightly irritated expression.

"That has nothing to do with what I'm trying to get out of you guys!" his voice was a high pitched whine. Matthew could only sigh and glance at the folded up wheelchair that poked out from under his couch like seat. "…But where will we be ending? Jeez, we really need to be informed better about this kind of stuff…" Alfred then asked.

"New York is where we're ending. We're going to several cities there for some reason, don't ask me," Matthew shrugged his shoulders as he said that. Alfred fist pumped at the announcement and continued with a small victory dance. Matthew had known that Alfred had wanted to go to New York for a long time.

"Where will we be on the twenty eighth?" Arthur asked, Alfred's enthusiasm dying down at the reason to why Arthur was asking that question.

"Orlando Florida."

"Can we not talk about Artie here leaving? Let's savor his time here!" Alfred grinned, pulling the Brit into a one armed hug. Arthur side glanced at Alfred almost warily and then at Francis, his expression clearly reading 'don't say anything' before lightly leaning into Alfred.

"Whatever you say Alfred~" Francis grinned, waving his hand around in circles. "Now about the order of our songs, I think I have a good one—we can start with Never Let You Go, then go to Life is a Highway, Never Going Out Again and end with Just the Way You Are," he continued.

Alfred contemplated over the order for a bit, his jaw shifting back and forth as he did so before grinning at Francis. "Sure thing! That sound good," he announced, Francis adopting a proud look. "Dudes, I really love how we're going to do Just the Way You Are too, it's just epic win!" Alfred piped soon after.

"Sure, you just like it because you and our dear Arthur open the song with the vocals," Francis grinned. "You two have boy band quality voices—especially together."

"Not true! I like It because Mattie finally gets to sing too!" Alfred defended, turning a light shade of red. It was true though, he and Arthur got to open the song with the vocals that he loved so. Matthew had come up with the idea and Alfred had loved it. Since Matthew was going to be lead singer in that song and Alfred and Arthur were back up together, Kiku would man the keyboard and Francis even got the privilege of being the drummer. Matthew had been giving the French teen private lessons for the past week and few days, Francis having gotten it down.

Within the next hour, the bus had fallen into a beautiful silence, Arthur and Alfred dead asleep, the two cuddled together. Francis was still awake, snickering at the sight while Matthew had his head rested in Francis's lap, also out cold. Kiku was currently texting with Heracles who had announced that he wasn't open until August sixteenth and would be heading back home on September second to prepare for school. They had to find a new soundboard guy until then.

Sighing as quietly as possible, Francis looked down at Matthew and smiled softly before raking his hand through the Canadian's lightly wavy hair. He himself was starting to feel tired with how late it was along with how quiet it was in the bus, the motor being the only thing audible other than the occasional jabbing at cell phone buttons courtesy of Kiku.

When they arrived at the hotel around midnight, Francis shook Matthew awake and pointed at Alfred and Arthur. Matthew smiled and kissed Francis on the lips briefly before pushing himself up, carefully swinging his legs around the edge of the couch and getting help with standing up by Francis. Once outside, Matthew sat down on the steps of the bus as Francis retrieved his wheelchair, unfolding it after stepping over Matthew. The Canadian then got in and wheeled himself into the hotel to check them in.

Francis shook the two awake, making sure that he had a wide grin on. "Oh dear Arthur~" his grin only got bigger when Arthur woke up, found himself in an awkward position in front of Francis and jumped, falling off of the couch like seat in the process of doing so, waking Alfred up as well.

He laughed at Arthur's beet red face and helped the guitarist up, Arthur reluctantly accepting the offer. "Time to get up—you two can cuddle when we get out rooms," Francis chuckled. Arthur huffed and straightened his clothes out before grabbing his suitcase on his way out.

They'd be staying in Vegas for about four days, having a few more music conferences to attend along with two concerts. Vegas also was the place they'd be spending the most time in as well, for the rest of their destinations they'd be staying in for two days and maybe not even a day. The only thing Alfred could say was that they were going to be pretty busy the next few weeks.

The five trudged up to their hotel rooms, obviously exhausted. Arthur and Alfred would be sharing a room, Francis and Matthew sharing another and Kiku being alone until Heracles joined them. They had all agreed to that with red faces save for Francis who was the only one without shame it seemed.

"C'mon Artie, I wanna sleep," Alfred sighed, pulling Arthur down onto the bed. "You can brush your teeth in the morning," he continued, a pout on his face. Arthur tried to push himself away from Alfred and soon enough, the two were immersed in a tickle fight, Alfred clearly 'dominating' over Arthur with his strength, a huge grin on his face.

The two stopped when someone opened their door. Apparently they had forgotten to fully close it, and luckily along with unluckily for them, it was Francis who still had that smirk stuck to his face. It took a moment, but they soon noticed their position, a shirtless Alfred straddling Arthur whose face was red from the struggle they'd just had, both lightly panting.

"Ah~" Francis started, flashing them a toothy grin. "Sorry if I was interrupting something…kinky…but I was going to tell you guys that Matthew needs some help…"

"Can't Mattie get help from you?" Alfred asked, rolling off of Arthur. More like got pushed off of Arthur. "I mean…isn't that why you're his boyfriend? To help him and...err…I don't think love is in your vocabulary…"

"Oh hush, he just needs to talk with Alfred," Francis waved a hand in the air as if waving away a bug.

XXX

Alfred whistled in an impressed way. The stage they had whipped up for them was pretty 'trippy' in Alfred's point of view. Lights littered the stage—far more than their Fourth of July concert.

"Wow, this place sure knows how to make something look appealing," Alfred grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets. "But that' Vegas for ya~"

They immediately started rehearsing for the concert later that day. They were all obviously tired too. Alfred had insisted that they just polish up a few things they needed to work on before they head back to the hotel, obviously hoping to fit in a few more hours of sleep giving how early they had been rudely awoken by their alarms.

After that, like he had hoped, Alfred had managed to drag Arthur in bed with him and fit in a large amount of sleep after that. He had awoken first and smiled, admiring how peaceful Arthur looked when asleep.

Over in Francis and Matthew's room, Matthew had decided to sleep as well while Francis surfed the web for nothing in particular, bookmarking a few reports about them here and there.

Kiku simply read a book and marveled at the sight of Las Vegas. They had gotten a pretty nice hotel and they had gotten themselves on a floor pretty close to the top. Matthew had mildly panicked about the height, but other than that, they had no other complications.

When Alfred looked over at the clock, he was slightly bummed to find that they should be leaving for the location of the concert. They'd have to rehearse once more and fully wake up, so he lightly shook his partner awake. Arthur had mumbled about wanting ten more minutes of sleep, but Alfred would hear none of it, though a humored grin touched his lips.

He was then met by Francis and Matthew who were also up and ready to leave as well as Kiku. They were then transported to their destination, having to avoid a few fans that spotted them.

As always, at the opening of a concert, Alfred would walk out with a bounce in his step and flash a toothy grin at their audience along with a wave of his hand to be followed by the rest of his band mates. He then greeted them, though this time saying 'Hello Las Vegas!' instead of the usual.

Arthur was their lead guitarist once more, so he got the honors of opening Never Let You Go. Francis was Alfred's back up and they added in a small dance for the chorus. At 'Turn around your back on each other', Alfred and Francis would jump to face the other direction so that their backs faced the crowd. Whenever he did so, he would send a charming smile at Arthur who would shyly smile back and return his attention to playing his guitar.

Life is a Highway was fun too. Alfred loved watching Arthur play his guitar for this song too, the other's eyes being completely closed. He wondered how Arthur could play with his eyes closed and Matthew had once told him it was muscle memory. Francis was second guitar along with back up, Kiku also being back up since there was no role for the piano once more. Kiku was a light dancer while Arthur and Francis would start jumping around by the time the chorus came around the first time.

Then they transitioned into Never Going Out Again. Again, Alfred found himself occasionally watching Arthur play his guitar as he sang. Sometimes he'd glance back at Matthew, also liking how much fun his half-brother looked like he was having whenever he was playing the drums. When the chorus came around, Alfred, Francis and Arthur would sing it together, their audience shouting their approval. Alfred loved ending the song with 'I'll be there in ten minutes'—that was his favorite part of the song.

When Just the Way You Are rolled around, Alfred was pumped and felt like he could rule the world. He stepped off to the side, handing the main microphone to Matthew as he approached front stage, an extremely nervous expression stuck to his face. With a huge grin at Arthur who waved back and smiled himself, Alfred and said guitarist started the song vocally. He mentally whooped at how excited the crowd sounded and he also drowned in Arthur's voice that accompanied his. Francis was right, they were boy band quality. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud but…damn. Matthew then began singing and Francis would be on his drums, bouncing to his own beat. Alfred glanced back to watch the French teen during the first verse, finding the drum beat catchy and soon found himself bouncing along. Kiku was on the keyboard, the thing set to a specific sound for the chorus.

When they ended the song, it was Matthew's turn to look like he could rule the world. He had a huge grin plastered to his face and it was aimed at Alfred as if asking 'did I do good?' and Alfred grinned back, giving his half-brother a thumbs up.

After that, they went down to do a meet and greet along with signing a few things that were handed to them. Alfred unconsciously flirted with a few girls and was confused at why Arthur was lightly glaring at him.

XXXX

**Stranger by Secondhand Serenade**

**Wavin' Flag by K'naan**

**Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings**

**I Know How to Say by 3OH!3**

**Never Let You Go by Third Eye Blind (NOT JUSTIN BEIBER)**

**Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts**

**Never Going Out Again by Orange**

**Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars**

**Mm, this chapter feels rushed…Lol and I should be listing the songs I use now shouldn't I? I'll get to the past chapters and add those songs as well. Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

** I'm back and sick…that won't keep me from updating though, so enjoy~**

**XXXX**

_August 17_

_ Omaha Nebraska_

_ Matty told me too start a journal for some reason and I thought, what the heck? Sure why not? So Im starting a journal. Artys looking over my shoulder and hes telling me Im not good with gramer. Now he just told me I spelled GRAMMAR rong. Aparently theirs a W in WRONG…_

_ OK lets continue so we (meaning me, Arty, Frenchie, Matty, Kiku and Heracles) started a tour of America and were almost half-way threw. Doesn't Arty know journals are suposed too be private!_

"Al, what are yo—!" Arthur started, but was pushed back into the bed, Alfred's lips connecting with his. He didn't know why Alfred had decided to turn around and start kissing him, but he couldn't object to the action. "Al…"

"Hush Artie," he placed a finger on Arthur's lips, leaning down to kiss him again.

_OK so just finished ravishing Arty for looking over my shoulder and being a invasion to my personal space. –Winking smiley face drawn here- Cant wait for Wang-man (thats my nickname for Yao the violinist) too join us at Madison WI. Really want too hear him play his violin, hope hes good but Ill always think Artys the best –Another smiley face drawn here-_

_ O and I should probably right everything that happened before this. Lets start with Matty wanting to play drums for school as a free preformance thing. Then the awesome me (do I sound like that Gilbert bastard?) joined him along with Frenchie and Kiku and we got super famous and all that stuff. I actually cant remembre what happened, all I know is that we do lots of conserts. _

_ I definately remember Arty just sudenly appearing out of nowhere. Like, I woke up one day and went down stairs and he was like—sudenly there! Ha, ha, I almost called him a stranger!_

_ OK thats it._

He snapped the notebook shut and threw it over the edge of his bed, it landing in his suitcase. "You done?" he turned and grinned at Arthur who was currently pouting on his bed, arms folded in front of his, his chin rested on them. He got off of his bed and jumped onto Arthur's, grabbing the other around the waist and rolling over onto his back so Arthur was straddling him.

"Yep!" he grinned up at Arthur who gradually smiled back down at him. Alfred pulled the other down so the Brit's chest was pressed up against his own. The two remained in that position for a brief amount of time before Arthur spoke up.

"I'm leaving in under two weeks Alfred," he announced. Alfred abruptly sat up, Arthur allowing himself to fall onto his back, bouncing a bit on the bed.

"Please don't talk about that—I don't wanna think about it," Alfred grumbled, rubbing his thumbs on the palms of Arthur's hands. Arthur glanced at Alfred's face before shifting it to the nightstand next to the bed. "C'mon," his voice was not enthusiastic and the sudden change in attitude forced Arthur to keep up with Alfred's mood swings. The American got off of the bed and started putting his shoes on along with grabbing his wallet. "I'm gonna go to the McDonald's across the street! I need a burger…"

"Alfred, are you serious?" Arthur sighed, sitting himself up. "Do you really have to go there? I don't really think it'll be a quiet affair…" he continued, swinging his legs to the edge of the bed, digging his toes into the extremely soft carpet below.

"C'mon, why don't you come with me?" Alfred suggested, grabbing Arthur's hand and dragging him off of the bed and out of their room. "It'll be fun!" he continued, Arthur protesting loudly as he was drug down the hall and to the elevator.

"Would you at least put on some sunglasses and a hat?" Arthur asked, struggling to match the pace Alfred was moving at.

"Nonsense!"

When they reached the bottom floor, Alfred proceeded with dragging Arthur out of the hotel and out onto the street. The second they got out, people that were walking by began staring at them—likely wondering if they were who they thought they were. Alfred crossed the street too fast though, for them to confirm their thoughts.

They entered the McDonald's. "Alfred F. Jones comin' through!" Alfred announced his arrival, Arthur telling Alfred to be quiet. Many did a double-take before a few teens approached them excitedly, the older simply leaning closer to each other and talking, pointing at Alfred and Arthur.

Grinning, Alfred strolling right to the front of the line, cutting in front of about five people. While Alfred basically ordered the whole menu, Arthur apologized to those who had adopted irritated looks. So far, not so good. He was also turning red at the questions being asked from a few fans. He could hear the clicks of phones taking photos here and there.

"Alfred, I told you we wouldn't be left alone—now please, can we go?" Arthur muttered, tugging at Alfred's shirt sleeve, cheeks still tinted red from the questions a few fans had asked not too long ago. "I mean…you could at least get someone else to get it for you…"

"No way! That takes away the fun of meeting your fans—Hi guys!" Alfred happily piped, waving at them before turning to grin at the people that were currently making a big fuss over the two. "Sorry, but me and Artie have to go!"

"It's 'and I'…and my name's not Artie," Arthur grunted, glancing warily at their fans. "If we just leave—maybe we won't do something that'll land us in the tabloids…" he continued as Alfred received two bags worth of heart attacks before turning to grin at Arthur.

"C'mon Artie, you're so boring—how 'bout this?" Alfred set the bags on a table and pulled Arthur closer to him, their chests pressed together and Arthur turning a cute shade of pink—glancing at their watchers once more. They were sending the two expectants looks, clearly waiting for something more to happen in front of them. "Jeez these guys are persistent!"

"That's because you give them something and they only want more!" Arthur hissed, shoving himself away from Alfred. "Now get your heart attack inducing burgers and let's leave—I don't want to deal with these guys any longer," he continued in a moody huff, starting his walk back to their hotel.

"Aww, you're no fun—by guys!" Alfred waved and they left. Quite a few followed them into the hotel and Arthur had to tell some of their body guards to keep them from getting any further than the elevator they were currently entering.

Arthur watched in disgust as Alfred had begun unwrapping his third cheeseburger. "That's just unattractive Alfred," he grumbled, leaning back on his bed to stare at the ceiling. "You could at least eat a little slower," he continued, crossing one leg over the other. Alfred glanced at the Brit, still chewing his burger as he spoke incoherent words. Arthur was glad he wasn't looking at Alfred at the moment—he could hear the food blocking the other's voice and it was gross enough.

He then swallowed and repeated what he had just said. "Why're you so crabby?" he asked.

"I'm not being crabby…I just don't want to watch you speak with your mouth full of food—it's disgusting," Arthur replied, daring to sit up. "And I also can't wait to go home…"

"What?" he was about to take another bite of his burger, but set it down when he heard what Arthur had just said. "Why do you want to go home all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong? Please don't tell me I did something wrong Artie! I'll fix it! Promise," Alfred began, going over to the bed Arthur was laying on, almost groveling at the guitarist's feet.

"No Alfred, you didn't do something wrong. I just want my privacy…the media isn't as obsessive in England as it is here," Arthur shook his head, taking Alfred's hand in his own. "It's not you," he then added as if to reinforce his answer. Alfred tilted his head and got onto the bed, sitting next to Arthur, pulling the other into a hug.

"'M sorry for…you know…dragging you into all of this," Alfred apologized. "Mattie told me that you wanted a normal time here and look at all this," he chuckled humorlessly. "This isn't exactly what one would call normal…but…but if you could have a normal time here, what would you have wanted to do?"

There was a short silence before Arthur answered. "Well, I'd probably start with watching a few movies late at night with you and Matthew. Probably argue with Francis quite a bit, talk with Kiku if he ever came over to play video games with you," he started, smiling down at his hand that was being held by Alfred. "I don't know, maybe you'd drag me off to the beach or something…you still like swimming do you?"

"Yeah, I actually kinda miss swimming a bit," Alfred let go of Arthur along with the Brit's hand and lay back on the bed, Arthur following his demonstration.

"But then again, who knows? We probably would've never gotten together like this if you weren't in such a spotlight," Arthur smiled at Alfred, the other turning his head to grin back at his childhood friend. "I guess we should thank Matthew since he helped out with most of it whether he knows it or not," he then added.

"Oh hey, could we play Chasing Cars for an upcoming concert? I've been wanting to play it for a while…" Alfred suddenly piped up, sitting up. "You can grab your guitar and we can play through it once just for now and then tell the others we'll be playing it…"

"Sure thing Alfred," he nodded, sitting up as well before heading over to where his guitar was resting in the corner in its case, propped up against the wall. He took it out and began tuning it as Alfred cleared his throat.

"You ready?" Alfred asked once Arthur stopped picking the strings. He received a nod and Arthur started the song off. As they got further into the song, smiles had crept onto their features, Arthur feeling as if the lyrics were being spoken to him by the young man staring at the wall next to him.

Francis grunted and opened his eyes, glancing at the clock that rested on the nightstand next to the bed he was currently sharing with Matthew. The two had slept in from what the French teen could see and he could hear a guitar and a voice on the other side of the thin wall. He easily identified it and smiled, shaking Matthew awake and shushing him when the other began asking him why he had woken him up.

Matthew listened to the music coming from behind their heads and he smiled. "Guess we'll be playing that then?" he asked, turning onto his side to wrap his arms around Francis's torso as the other nodded in agreement. This was one of their rare free days, so they didn't have to get up. Having decided to take advantage of that, Francis and Matthew ended up sleeping in, tired from all of the activity the tour had forced onto them.

For the first time in a long time, Matthew's arms were getting sore from playing his drums so often. The first time that had happened was when he had first started them in the first place. Matthew was getting lean muscles from it.

"So, what will we be doing for the rest of the day?" the drummer asked, looking up at Francis who had sat up and grabbed a book. "I assume you're going to read away and ignore me?" he then huffed, pouting up at Francis.

"I'm not that cold _mon amour_," Francis grinned, turning a page. Matthew continued to pout up at Francis before rolling onto his back to stare up at the ceiling before shifting his gaze to the window that overlooked the place they were currently staying in.

"We're going to Iowa next…skipping Minnesota though, straight to Wisconsin," Matthew pointed out. "Spending only a day in Iowa too," he added, turning his head to look at the French young man sitting next to him. The music on the other side of the wall had ended and Matthew soon found the silence a little bothersome. Francis replied with a hum, staring intently at the words printed in front of him. "You're ignoring me."

"Am not," Francis grinned once more. "I can read on my own free will can't I?" this time he peeked over at Matthew. "And you look good without your glasses—how many fingers am I holding up."

Blushing at Francis's comment, Matthew huffed. "Two, and you are so ignoring me…"

"Three _mon amour_, and I am most certainly not ignoring you," Francis let his hand fall into the sheets of the bed. Matthew uttered an 'are too' and jumped in shock when Francis rolled himself on top of the Canadian, now straddling the other. "Fine, are you happy?" he asked, rubbing Matthew's eyebrow with the pad of his thumb.

"Not really…you could at least kiss me…" Matthew grumbled. Francis chuckled and leaned down, taking Matthew's lips onto his own. When they separated, Francis was still grinning down at the Canadian, asking if he was happy. "…One more time…?" he blushed at his neediness. Francis leaned down once more to kiss Matthew again and Matthew thanked him when they separated for a second time.

Music started up again, Alfred and Arthur having started up another song. It was one they've already played—Far Away. Smiling, Francis looked up at the wall as if he could see through it.

"They enjoy playing without us."

"We could do the same thing—I mean, you know the songs Arthur's playing and I could sing. It'll be like a…something," Matthew smiled up at Francis, pushing him off of himself, motioning for Francis to grab his guitar. A bit reluctantly, Francis tuned it and strummed a G chord, announcing that he was ready.

"Are we going to play the same thing they are?" he asked, his fingers pressing into the strings, forming chords, but not strumming them, waiting for Matthew to be ready.

"Sure, two different songs at once would probably throw us off," Matthew settled into a comfortable yet proper position for singing on the bed, Francis taking a seat on the bed across from him much to his disappointment. "So Far Away it is."

Alfred grinned. "They're copying us," he suddenly stopped his singing to say that, Arthur still strumming the chords though. Alfred returned to singing after that.

"Ah, I guess we can call this a duet of some sort," Arthur shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think I know a song Francis doesn't know either," he then added, Alfred nodding his head at the wall in front of him before turning to glance at the wall behind them, where Matthew and Francis's room was. "I wonder if Kiku and Heracles hear us."

"Naw, they're across the hall," Alfred shook his head. They concluded the song and began pondering over another to play. It was almost past noon and they had nothing to do, it being a free day—something Arthur soon learned to cherish. "How 'bout Fall For You? Secondhand Serenade?"

"And you call me a sap," Arthur snickered. Alfred simply grinned and hugged Arthur from behind, his navy blue Union Jack guitar currently in the way. "Are we done I suppose?" Arthur asked, leaning back into Alfred's embrace.

"Naw, let's play Secondhand Serenade," he shook his head, separating himself from Arthur and jumping over to the bed across from the one Arthur was currently seated on. "Well?"

"Just thinking," and he started to play once more.

XXXX

**Okay, I apologize if this chapter's short too, kinda filler-ish if you could call it that uh…one of those chapters where nothing really important to the plot happened. Thanks guys for all of the song suggestions, they made me happy and gave me quite a bit of songs to play around with ;) Please review, I love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :D**


	19. Chapter 19

** I'm back ;D Ooh, we've got some drama going on in this chapter…mwahaha…Can you tell that was unenthusiastic? Enjoy ;)**

**XXXX**

Alfred glanced out the window, having woken up just a few minutes ago. The sun was already rising at six in the morning and apparently Matthew was already up—Alfred was surprised he himself was able to wake up this early too. With a stretch, Alfred rolled onto his stomach, peering at the door that led into the small bedroom like area in the bus, it being Kiku and Heracles's turn in it. "When's Yao joining us again?"

"At tonight's concert," Matthew answered. Humming while nodding his head, Alfred pat his hand around the ground blindly, searching for the journal Matthew had told him to start, the other hand searching for his glasses.

Putting them on and lifting the notebook after finally finding it, Alfred then began his search for a writing utensil, finding a pencil in his pocket. He then propped himself up on his elbows and began to write.

_August 19_

_ Madisin, Whisconsin_

_ Just got too Madisin Whisconsin. Wang-man's joining us pretty soon to. He, ha, cant wait for the consert tonight, itll be awesome, actually, more than awesome. Im gonna drag every one to another Ludwig party again, I didnt know the guy lived in Whisconsin! _

_ Well, every ones a sleep right now, Frenchy's snoring again to. Kiku and Hercules are in the back, its there turn in the bedroom. Arty wont stop talking about him leaving when we get to Orlando to…-Sad face drawn here-_

_ I wander if they have good cheese here like all the stereo types say, Ill have to go get some sometime and drag Arty with me to _

_ Thats all for now._

Grinning down at his sloppy handwriting, Alfred closed the book silently, dropping it and the pencil on the ground without a care. "Hey, you wanna get some cheese with me when we get the time?"

Matthew looked utterly lost at what Alfred had just asked him. "Why do you want to go get cheese?"

"I wanna know if it's true!" Alfred grinned, dropping his head into his folded arms. It took Matthew a moment to figure out that Alfred was talking about wanting to get Wisconsin cheeses. He then proceeded with facepalming , muttering under his breath that Alfred was a lost cause.

"Quiet down," Arthur grumbled from his sleeping spot on the other side of the vehicle from Alfred. "'M trying to sleep…"

"Dude, I didn't know you were even capable of sleeping past six," Alfred snickered only to have a pillow thrown at him, laughing none the less. "Sorry, sorry…" the American then apologized.

"Seriously guys, shut up," the two half-brothers looked over to Francis who was glaring wearily at the three of them from his sleeping spot. Alfred stuck his tongue out, but didn't say anything as Arthur and Francis went back to sleep and after a bit of nothing, Alfred decided that some more sleep sounded rather appealing.

Alfred lay down and once the other drifted off to sleep, Matthew smiled at the silence, the only noise being Francis and Alfred's surprisingly soft snoring and the engine of the bus. He leaned down and picked up a book from under his seat and lifted it up, opening it to where a bookmark had been stuck in and started to read.

Yao finished his small melody with a bow and Alfred grinned. "Yeah, you're pretty good man, I'm impressed," he nodded. Yao had just played a melody he had composed himself for Alfred and had lived up to what Matthew had been saying about the Chinese boy. Alfred still thought that Arthur was the best stringed instrument player, but then again, Alfred was a rather biased guy.

They were currently backstage of an amphitheater, a large crowd waiting for them on the other side. Francis and Arthur were currently tuning their guitars, a few stage crew walking past them here and there. After a bit of time, Alfred had decided that they should go out about now.

Alfred and Yao waved confidently at their audience, Arthur, Francis, Kiku and Matthew not too far behind, Francis blowing a few kisses only to be elbowed by Matthew who lightly sent warning glares at him. The American of the group proceeded with announcing Yao's collaboration.

Their first song was She's a Rebel, Alfred preferring to call if Last of the American Girls. Alfred started them off, Yao following in with his violin not too far behind. Matthew had stated that he loved playing Green Day mostly because the songs had great drum performance for him. Arthur was their lead guitar this concert, Francis being back up along with second guitar. Yao was pretty good at making his voice sound like a girl's too, so he was the female back up that was heard in the song.

The group followed up with What Hurts the most, Yao also able to play his violin in this song. Alfred liked this song for it was a good mix of calm and a bit of action later on. He couldn't really relate the lyrics to any of them though—he enjoyed relating lyrics to relationships he and his band mates had. When Francis sang the part '_I will trade the world'_ right after Alfred did, he glanced at Matthew who just happened to look over at him and blush lightly before smiling at the guitarist.

Secrets was next and Alfred again, was impressed with Yao's seemingly flawless playing. He had set the microphone so that it made his voice echo and in the chorus at 'All my secrets away', Francis and Yao would join him. Yao was dancing to his own playing, Matthew off in his own world as well. There was no guitar in it, so Arthur stood back and watched the five.

They then preformed Enchanted. Kiku was finally able to play properly—unfortunately it was the last song. Alfred felt bad for his Japanese friend and made a mental note to find more songs that Kiku could play with them. Alfred liked the smoothness of this song too, glancing over at Arthur every now and then in hopes of getting a glance into those green eyes. Arthur had his eyes closed most of the time, letting the sounds of Alfred's voice, Matthew's easy drum beats and Kiku's keyboard surround him, bouncing whenever he started strumming chords, mouthing the chorus along with Alfred without even knowing it. And instead of 'Taylor', Alfred replaced the name unknowingly with Arthur. Francis snickered from his spot, backing up Alfred along with Yao who was holding back snickers himself.

When they finished the song, the usual happened—the crowd cheered and Alfred would wave at them enthusiastically, the only difference was that Yao was also waving enthusiastically at the crows alongside Alfred.

"That was awesome dude! You're good, can't wait for the next concert!" Alfred grinned, clapping Yao on the shoulder who simply grinned back in a triumphant manner. "Oh, hey, I was gonna drag everyone off to a party that Ludwig guy's throwing again—do you want to come?" he then offered.

"Sure thing," Yao grinned, going off to put his violin away, the stage crew having to deal with the cello.

"Oh, Alfred, I don't think Heracles and I will be going," Kiku announced, tapping Alfred's shoulder lightly as he helped Arthur unplug cords.

"Hm? Oh, that totally fine dude. So I'll see ya later?"

"Hai."

"What are you going on about?" Arthur asked as he packed his instrument into its case. "This better not be another party Alfred," he then continued, swinging the case's strap around his shoulder. Alfred simply grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, that guitarist Ludwig's throwin' another one—I didn't know he lived in Wisconsin," Alfred stated as he headed over to help Matthew. "And you're coming whether you like it or not," he then grinned toothily at Arthur, winking at the guitarist in the process. Arthur simply rolled his eyes and walked over to help some of the stage crew. "You're coming too Matthew—same goes for you Francis!"

They entered what was likely Ludwig's parent's house, for it was a bit formal looking. The party though, was anything but. Music, as always, was as loud as possible without immediately deafening someone, there was food littered all over the place with how many people were there along with the fact that one guy had decided to start a food fight before they arrived.

Alfred whistled at how much of a mess the place already was when they entered. "And this is why I don't really throw parties at my place—it's a real pain to clean up eh Artie?" he grinned, elbowing Arthur softly in the arm.

The five separated, Francis having spotted Antonio. He approached him and greeting him with an enthusiastic 'ey!' and the two did a funky hand shake that consisted of elbow bumps and sound effects. Arthur would've laughed at them if he saw that. "So how are ya _amigo?_ Ah! I've been watching a few of your concerts on TV!" Antonio piped.

"Ha, ha! Why thank you _mon ami_, any feedback?"

"Psh, not really, all I can say is that kid with the Canadian flag on his bass drum is way better than Lovino," Antonio shrugged his shoulders. "Well, that's mostly because he doesn't have a bad tempter but yeah!" Antonio continued with a grin.

"Ah, that is Matthew Williams you are speaking of," Francis smiled.

"And the one you're currently bonking," Antonio snickered when he said 'bonking'. Francis rolled his eyes and chuckled at the strange choice of vocabulary.

"Bonnefoy," a voice almost bit out. Francis turned to be face to face with the red eyed…German? That sounded right. Gilbert was his name, his last name…

"Sorry, I don't remember your last name," Francis furrowed his eyebrows at the silver haired rapper in front of him. "But I do remember that you forced yourself onto Matthew," he continued venomously. Gilbert snorted and glared at Francis square in the eye.

Matthew had managed to find the Cuban drummer he had met back at the party Alfred and Arthur got together at. He had intended to go over to the guy and strike up another chat, but when he spotted something horribly familiar that had led to not so good things, Matthew stopped to do a double take. He had silver hair but at least it wasn't who he thought it was. Well, then again this person also resulted in not so good things happening to them. Ivan Braginsky.

"Shit! Gotta find Alfred!" and he raced off to find his half-brother and keep him from seeing Ivan.

Unfortunately Alfred was in the opposite direction where Matthew had run off to and the American had already spotted the tall Russian. That long white scarf and his height really made the bass player stick out. So he strolled over to the tall guy—he felt strange being the short one.

"Hey Ivan!" Alfred greeted casually, a grin surfacing. Ivan looked down at Alfred and for a moment, didn't recognize him before something clicked in his brain, a softer smile surfacing.

"Ah, Alfred, long time no see. How are you doing?" Ivan returned the greeting, pulling Alfred into a one armed hug that made the American stumble into the taller. Ivan then proceeded with pressing a kiss into the bespectacled teens cheek which heated up at the sudden gesture.

"…How 'bout on the lips?" Alfred asked, his voice shy, yet a hit of coyness in it. At this moment, there was no _The United Nations_, no people staring at them, no party and unfortunately, no Arthur. Smiling, Ivan granted Alfred's wish. Ivan tasted of a brisk winter wind, a strange coal like flavor and—

"ALFRED FUCKING JONES!" while Ivan simply lifted his head, Alfred jumped back, falling onto his behind. On the other side of the room stood a seething Arthur, fists clenched tightly at his sides. He then stormed over to the two and pulled Alfred harshly to his feet, almost literally dragging him into the kitchen which was less populated before almost literally throwing the American into the counter.

"That's not my middle name…"

"I don't care about your damn middle name you…you…" Arthur took a deep breath, unable to say what he was intending to say. "Just what in bloody hell were you doing?" he snapped. If Alfred didn't know better, he would've thought that Arthur's eyes were glowing like those wizards that got all glowy magical on them when angry. "_Well_?" his voice was loud and rigid.

"I-I wasn't thinking! I went over to say hi…" Alfred answered, his voice as small as he felt despite the height difference in between the two.

"_Hi?_ Is that how you greet every single person?" Arthur snapped. Alfred averted his gaze only to have Arthur forcefully turn his head to look at him. "Look at me dammit!"

Gilbert leant on Antonio coolly, an irritated grin stuck to his face. "I've been lookin' at the tabloids lately. Apparently you got Matthew's leg broken—and he goes back to you!" he narrowed his eyes. "Why're you so special eh?"

"Nothing, and why are you being a stalker?"

"It's perfectly normal to check the tabloids pervert!" Gilbert barked abruptly.

"That's me," Francis smartly replied, going as far as to grin at Gilbert who saw it as a challenge. Gilbert growled at not getting the reaction he had hoped for out of Francis. So with a childish stop of the foot, he turned swiftly on his heel and began walking off. "Where you going? Chicken?" Francis called after the rapper.

"I'm off to claim what's rightfully mine!" Gilbert answered, sending a glare along with a challenging smirk back at Francis. It took the French teen a moment to understand what Gilbert meant before swearing and going after the rapper, yelling at him.

Matthew had just managed to get the flirting Korean off of Yao for the third time that night. Yao had thanked him and headed off to talk with more people, Matthew telling him to avoid the Korean as much as possible. He was currently wheeling himself into the living room when Gilbert seemingly appeared out of nowhere and forced a kiss onto his lips. Not too long after that, before Matthew's brain could even register the action, Francis pulled Gilbert forcefully off of Matthew.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" the wavy haired blond barked, jabbing his index finger into Gilbert's chest only to have it swatted away.

"Shut up! You can't dictate my life!"

Matthew watched helplessly and even fearfully as Francis and Gilbert gradually lapsed into a fist fight. "You two stop!" he tried, but his words fell on deaf ears. "Francis!"

Suddenly, Gilbert was pulled backwards roughly. "Gilbert, what the hell are you doing?" his voice was loud, extremely assertive and Matthew was almost crying due to how intimidating the blond guitarist was.

Francis had jumped at Gilbert now that his silver haired opponent was being held back. Luckily, Matthew had pretty good reflexes and he had grasped onto Francis from behind, the momentum pulling him slightly out of the wheelchair. The guitarist remained in his position, slightly bent from the added weight, though his gaze had fallen to the ground.

"Please Francis…stop," Matthew whimpered into Francis's thigh, a lone tear rolling down his cheek and that was all that fell. Francis remained still a bit more before sighing and sinking to the ground in a crisscross position, hugging Matthew close to him. "You scared me…"

"I'm sorry," Francis pat Matthew on the head once, stood and left just like that. Matthew stared at Francis's retreating back.

"_Fine_!" and the sound of a fist connecting with something made itself known. Matthew jumped and looked over at Alfred who was storming out of the kitchen area, a bruise forming on his left cheekbone

"Wh-what happened Al?"

"Arthur was angry, said he wanted to hit me so bad and I told him to go ahead," Alfred answered, his voice low, hurt but most of all, downright venomous. He glanced briefly down at Matthew, faintly noting that his half-brother wasn't in his wheelchair, but couldn't bring himself to care, turning to continue his way out of the house similar to Francis. Only difference was that Ivan accompanied him.

"Would you like a drink?"

"No, just need to sleep," Alfred answered and the two left. Matthew then glanced back over at the kitchen room and spotted Arthur glaring just as venomously as Alfred's voice at the now closed door. Arthur then turned to go out the back door.

Matthew nuzzled his face into the pillow that came with the hotel they were residing in when in Wisconsin. Kiku was currently sitting on the bed next to Matthew, looking down at the Canadian. "So…I leave and everything falls apart…" and Matthew nodded his head in agreement. "…Are you okay?" Mathew shook his head and nuzzled his face back into the pillow. "Where are they then?"

"Alfred went off with Ivan…Francis is probably walking around the city, though I doubt he's alone…and…I don't know where Arthur is," Matthew mumbled into the pillow. He then sighed heavily. "Kiku I don't know what to do…Francis acted strange after getting into that fight with Gilbert…"

"Do not worry about that until it actually becomes a problem Matthew, you'll stress yourself," Kiku advised, hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder. Matthew simply waved the Japanese keyboardist off, wanting to be alone at the current moment. Kiku stood and left wordlessly.

With a heavy sigh, Matthew turned his head to glance out the window. Despite what had happened, he was worried about Alfred and Arthur—Alfred had left with Ivan and the other offered alcohol, that wasn't a good sign. Arthur on the other hand, had just up and left, Matthew had no clue where the other was. Last time Arthur had run off like this, Alfred had found him pretty close to Arizona.

The sound of the door opening quietly shook Matthew awake, having realized that he must've fallen asleep. Propping himself up on his elbows, Matthew straightened out his glasses and glanced at Francis who was standing at the door way, a stressed look stuck to his features. "Francis…"

"Matthew I love you," it was said with slight nervousness, despite who Francis was. Matthew blinked a few times before licking his lips, having nothing else to do.

"I-I…" Matthew didn't know what to say. He sniffled and noticed that he was crying. "Francis come here," he reached his arms out like a child asking to be picked up, unable to walk over to Francis himself. The guitarist remained at the doorway for a moment before padding over to the Canadian.

"I'm being serious," he whispered into Matthew's ear once they had gotten themselves in a comfortable position.

"I know…I'm just…the things that happened tonight have lagged me…" Matthew mumbled, nuzzling into Francis's chest. "But…I…I love you too," he felt his cheeks go hot. "Francis, I love you too," he was met with a firm kiss, though there was a touch of gentleness in it. Francis pushed him back into the mattress, hands sneaking under Matthew's shirt. "Francis…w-we're I-I think underage…"

"No we're not…but I won't do it if you're not comfortable," Francis answered, his breath hot on Matthew's ear.

"…I'm completely fine with it…"

XXXX

**She's a Rebel/Last of the American Girls by Green Day**

**What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts **

**The Remedy by Jason Mraz**

**Secrets by OneRepublic**

**Enchanted by Owl City**

**Amigo – Friend**

** Told ya there would be lots of drama in this chapter :P Oh, no, looks like Alfred and Arthur aren't on the best of terms again…Don't worry, they'll get together again, I can't tell you when though :D Please review, I love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :)**


	20. Chapter 20

** Hiya, I'm back and got a little too many assignments thrown onto me :P It sucks, but other than my complaining, I can't believe that I've made it to the twentieth chapter and still going strong :D It makes me so happy that I've made it this far—in the past I'd always start getting bored of my stories by the ninth chapter, but maybe this is because I just started making outlines. This is the first story I've ever used an outline for and I'm so proud of myself :D So yeah, enjoy~**

**XXXX**

_August 20_

_ Madisin Whisconsin_

_ Woke up somewhere unfamiliar but then rememred I went with Ivan. Looks like he dropped me of here last night. He got the wrong hotel though. I kinda wish Arty was here, repramanding my spelling and gramer but then again, I kinda with I'll never see him ever again…but I do want to see him. I'm so confused._

_ After thinking about what happened last night, I realised I shouldn't have asked Ivan to kiss me, it was kind of a dick thing too do. I gues I'll go back and apologise in a bit. Had to write this on a napkin ha, ha…_

_ That's all._

Matthew knocked on the door to Alfred and Arthur's hotel room, gently calling for his half-brother to or Arthur to come out. When he got no response, he sighed and backed away from the door, briefly stood there for a moment before heading over to his and Francis's hotel room. He entered to find Francis reading a book, cross legged on the second hotel bed.

With a grunt, Matthew pushed himself out of his wheelchair and flopped onto the bed Francis occupied, army crawling over to Francis. He ducked his head into the gap in between the bottom of Francis's book and his chest and popped up from under Francis's book, meeting Francis's lips. Francis grinned and when the two separated, he set his book in between Matthew's shoulder blades, having folded the corner of the page down.

"_Bonjour_ Matthew, are they there?" Francis asked, hugging Matthew closer to him.

"No, neither of them—I'm kind of worried about them Francis," Matthew answered, resting the side of his head against his boyfriend's chest, listening to the other's calm heartbeat.

"Don't worry about it _mon amour_," Francis started, raking a hand through Matthew's hair. "We can start looking if they don't get back by lunchtime," he continued, massaging Matthew's scalp.

"Yeah, they better get back before the concert tonight. If not we'll have to cancel it and I don't really think people will be pleased," Matthew remarked, his voice a soft sigh. He felt Francis nod his head and pick his book back up, picking up where he left off.

"Those two are blind in just the right places," Francis remarked and it took Matthew a moment to understand what Francis was saying. Humming, he nuzzled his face into Francis's chest and closed his eyes, allowing himself to take a cat nap. Francis didn't exactly want to remove Matthew when someone knocked on their door, but he couldn't exactly let them in with the lock in place. Apologizing to Matthew quietly, Francis lightly shoved the Canadian off of his abdomen and tucked him in, the other resting on his side.

Francis opened the door to find Kiku on the other side. "Any luck you two?" he asked. Francis shook his head in a 'no' gesture and Kiku sighed audibly. After a moment of silence, Kiku nodded and turned around to leave. "Oh, and Heracles is getting our lunch."

"Tell him I said _merci_ then," Francis nodded his head and Kiku took that mental note. He then closed the door and turned around to head back to the bed. Matthew had woken up, when he was moved and was now watching Francis with half-lidded eyes.

"Mm, who was that?"

"Just Kiku," he lay down next to the Canadian, pulling him into his side. Matthew hummed and snuggled up to Francis. "Boy you're cuddly," Francis chuckled, nuzzling the top of Matthew's head.

"Heracles has a good taste in food, should let him choose our meals from now on," Matthew smiled as he fixed the position his hat was in on the top of his head before replacing his glasses with sunglasses. He glanced at himself in the mirror, having to sit straight to get a glimpse of the mirror.

"One minute Matthew, take the hat off," Francis ordered, removing a hair band from his wrist. Francis then pulled all of Matthew's hair back into a ponytail, twisting the hair band around until it was tight enough. "Good," he grinned, stepping back and Matthew thanked him, though his neck felt cold now that his hair wasn't around most of it.

Matthew glanced up at Francis and smiled. "You look nice with a ponytail," he commented. Francis grinned and tapped Matthew's nose with an index finger with a _'merci'._ They then headed out of their hotel room, Matthew having the urge to hold Francis's hand, but unable to do so, for his hands were occupied with pushing the wheelchair he was in along. He couldn't wait to get out of it.

They took the elevator to the lobby and headed out the double doors. The two walked around town, searching for either Alfred, Arthur or both. People were giving them looks that read 'are they who I think they are?' as he passed by, a few going as far as following the two.

Matthew sighed and whispered to Francis. "I miss being able to walk around without being made a big fuss about," Francis nodded his head in agreement before turning to look down at his handicapped boyfriend.

"Now hush, we probably shouldn't talk so much if we don't want to be bothered," his voice was barely above a whisper. It was Matthew's turn to nod his head in agreement, adjusting the hat atop his head. He wondered if he'd ever be able to walk around town normally without use of a cover-up.

Alfred strolled down the street, a cover-up similar to Francis and Matthew's on. He had a hat and a pair of sunglasses replacing his glasses. A few people were following him too. He had stuffed his hands into his pockets and ducked his head down a long time ago, lips pressed into a thin line as he walked down the sidewalk. He really wanted to get some ice cream, but he didn't have any money on him and he'd end up causing an uproar like he and Arthur had when he went over to the McDonald's not too long ago.

Looking up, he spotted a teen around Arthur's height, a fancy black fedora like hat atop his head along with sunglasses much like his own, hair pulled into a ponytail walking in the opposite direction he was on the sidewalk on the other side of the road. The handicapped one accompanying him wore a similar disguise and Alfred took a brief moment to recognize the two as Matthew and Francis. He really wanted to run over to the two and greet them, but alas, he couldn't at the current moment and he sped up in the direction of the hotel, glancing over his shoulder as he did so.

Matthew wheeled alongside Francis and smiled when he spotted Alfred who was being followed by about eleven people. He wondered if his half-brother knew he was being followed and he tugged at Francis's sleeve. The other looked down with a quizzical look on his face, wordlessly asking what Matthew had to tell him.

"Al just walked by."

"Good," was all he said before looking ahead of himself once more. "Let's go look for Arthur then," he soon continued, smiling down at Matthew who smiled back.

Alfred entered his and Arthur's hotel room and removed the hat along with the sunglasses he had found in the hotel room Ivan had dropped him off at. The bass player had a different state to go off to early in the morning according to the note the Russian left him. When he noticed that both beds looked like they hadn't been slept in, Alfred hesitantly called out for Arthur. Stepping forward to peek further into the room, he found that everything was in its place before last night. Arthur wasn't here.

With a sigh, Alfred's shoulders slumped and he seated himself on the bed he had claimed for himself. Reaching under the bed, he pulled out his journal and extracted the rumpled napkin he had wrote an entry on earlier that morning. Opening the notebook to a blank page, Alfred began copying what was written on the napkin down into his journal.

When he finished, Alfred flipped back to the entry he had written on the eighteenth, not just two days ago.

_August 18_

_ Exira Iowa_

_ Wow, never even heard of this place. Well, we've planned this super awesome light show for the concert, we're gonna do it after the last song. Ha, ha, and I'm gonna kiss Arty during that, he'll be so embaresed. _

_ So today our driver got a bit of road rage. It was actualy kinda funny how red that one guys face got. Arty looked like he was going to yell back at the guy to, it was so funny. –Smiley face drawn here-_

_ Maty sugested Linkin Park earlier, didn't know he liked them._

_ That's it for now._

He smiled at the shortness and remembered the concert that night. He had followed through with kissing Arthur during the light show and it created an uproar, the Brit turning such a dark shade of red he thought Arthur would pass out any second.

"Man, I feel old now…" Alfred grumbled to himself as he tore out a blank page from his notebook. He searched the room for a writing utensil, picking up a discarded pencil on the floor in the corner near the bed closest to the window. Fiddling with the pencil in his hand, Alfred pondered over what he should write. He wasn't good with words, preferring physical over vocal since the whole action speak louder than words thing. It was true on his half too.

Smiling down at the paper, Alfred kissed it before starting to write.

It was around dinner time when Arthur finally entered the hotel they were staying in until tomorrow morning. He knew they had a concert tonight and that he should return lest they don't want to disappoint and even anger fans.

With a sigh, he entered the building and was spotted by Matthew who had just exited the elevator, heading down to the cafeteria the hotel held for dinner. Matthew wheeled over to Arthur quickly, a worried look on his face when he stopped in front of Arthur and pulled the Brit down into a hug. Surprised, Arthur didn't say anything, letting the Canadian hug him 'til his hearts delight.

"Where were you?" Matthew's voice was thick with worry and relief, reminding Arthur of a mother, which made him smile. He pulled back from Matthew, deciding not to answer Matthew's question.

"Nowhere of great importance," he started, smiling weakly down at Matthew.

"Are you coming for dinner?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, just let me go upstairs and wash up," Arthur sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Matthew nodded his head, hugged Arthur once more and wheeled into the cafeteria, looking over his shoulder as he did so.

"We've got a concert in two hours," Matthew announced and Arthur nodded his head in understanding. Arthur's shoulders slumped slightly once Matthew had disappeared into the cafeteria, rooted to his spot in the middle of the large lobby. Raking his hand through his hair once more, Arthur headed over to the elevator and pressed the button that brought him up to the fifth floor.

When he got to the desired floor, he stepped out and fished out his card key, slipping it into the lock. The lock clicked and Arthur shoved the door open. He looked around the empty room, half hoping that Alfred was in, but found that the American was absent. With another sigh, Arthur figured that Alfred was still with Ivan and headed over to the beds and stopped when he saw a piece of paper on the bed that was his, folded once with his name on the front. He could tell it was in Alfred's handwriting.

Opening it, Arthur began reading its contents.

_Arthur_

_ I'm sorry for doing what I did yesterday. I'll admit, I forgot that I was in a relationship with you and let Ivan kiss me. I even asked for it. _(The next three lines have been scribbled out.)

_I'm sorry. Things just haven't been so great on your half lately I guess? You come here and don't get any privasy, I kinda act like a jerk on my birthday (I gues that explains the lack of a present? Maybe next year) we end up touring America and I'm sure you didn't want too do that. I also did some thing I shouldn't have done. _

_ Hey, do you remembre when I asked you what the first thing you'd do if you got here and we were still normal? I do. And too be truthful, I say the first thing I'd do is fall in love with you. I'm being seriose, you said we wouldn't be together if all of this hadn't happened, but too be honest, I just felt diferent about you when I slid into you from the staircase rayling that mourning._

_ I really miss you right now. Earlier I felt like I should blame you for all of this, but then again, its my fault. You hit me pretty hard to, the bruse's pretty damn painful, maybe you should take some karate lesons from Kiku._

_ I know this questions kinda late, but what's England like? Is It as rainy as people say? Maybe I should visit you there but Maty and Francis won't be their too keep us company. Nevermind, we don't need there. _

_ So what was up with Maty being on the floor? Or did you not stay long enough to figur out? So yeah, if I'm not their when you read this, I'm probably down in the cafeteria, eating all of there food. –Smiley face drawn here- _

_I love you Arthur_

_Alfred._

Arthur stared down at the paper, having to read over it a few times over, tumbling over the misspelled and awkward grammar. Alfred's spelling and grammar was such a pain to read. He then read over the last two lines a few times over as well, those five words ringing in his head like a loud church bell.

Alfred sighed as he shoveled large amounts of food onto his tray. He hoped Arthur would come back soon because he was starting to worry about the other now that he knew the guitarist was absent. Looking over, he decided that he didn't want to sit with Francis, Matthew, Kiku and Heracles. He hoped that Arthur would read his letter too if he went to the room first.

He was about to head over to a vacant table when someone wrapped their arms around his waist from behind, resting the side of their face in between his shoulder blades. Looking down, he spotted the apology he had written to Arthur and his head leapt. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Arthur's gaze averted to the wall his face was facing, silent tears streaming down his cheeks.

Alfred smiled. "I guess you read my letter?"

Arthur nodded his head before taking a shaky breath. "I love you too."

XXXX

**Eh, eh? You like 8D The two finally said it…well, Al wrote it, but still. Lol, this one's too short for my liking though. Oh well, please review, I love to hear what you have to say. Peace out my friends ;)**


	21. Chapter 21

** Hiya, I'm back and have nothing to say so enjoy ;D**

**XXXX**

_August 28_

_ Orlando Florida_

_ Arty's leaving today –sad face drawn here- the last few conserts have bean super amazing with Wang-man helping us out though. Wang-man helped me compoas lots of songs! Their really cachy to, one has an awesome guitar solo for Arty or Frenchy. I was so exsited to play it last consert to sinse that was the first time we preformed that song._

_ Oh and we recorded songs for a CD a weak ago that Maty expects to be here by today._

_ We went too the beach yesterday but didn't get any privasy. Ha, ha, Arty and me were mobed so bad. Same with Maty and Frenchy –smiley face drawn here-_

_ Man, I don't want Iggy to leave! (He doesn't like that name, so I call him it all the time!) That's like, acrost the hole world! I wander when we can sea him again…Nooooo the thought makes me so sad! –Really sad face drawn here-_

_ Oh man, we have to colabarate with that wrapper again. I think his name's Gilbort, can't remembre. He's kinda weird in my opinion, his brother Ludwig (I think that's his name), threw that party that I kissed Ivan at. I think I saw Gilbort there, but I'm not shure. _

_ Well, that's all for now._

"You're spelling and grammar is horrid."

"Artie, journals are private!" Alfred grinned, snapping the notebook shut whilst stuffing the pencil in his pocket. Arthur simply smiled and rolled his eyes at the American as the two stood outside of security. Arthur seemed to have no intention of stepping forward and Alfred was perfectly fine with that. "How 'bout a kiss?"

"Sure, whatever you want," Arthur smiled, stepping closer to Alfred and the two shared a kiss. The stood there, Arthur's arms wrapped around Alfred's neck while Alfred's were wrapped around Arthur's waist, lips molded together. They were earning stares, luckily enough they had been left alone though. "Hm, I guess this is goodbye for the year," Arthur said when they separated, leaning forward to kiss Alfred once more.

"Aww, you're not coming for winter break?" Alfred whined once Arthur's lips left his for the second time. "I'll miss you so much Artie!" he continued, kissing Arthur again before embracing him, pulling the guitarist tightly against his chest. "When will I be seeing you again then?"

"Probably next summer break," Arthur answered, nuzzling his face into Alfred's collarbone.

"No way, that's too long!" Alfred pouted, pulling back to kiss Arthur again.

"I'll miss my flight if you keep this up," the Brit smiled warmly up at the American who grinned back down at him and hugged him closer once more.

"I'm completely fine with that."

"Well unfortunately for you, I'm not," Arthur remarked, pushing lightly away from Alfred. "But I really have to go," he continued, grabbing his carry on and starting for the security line. Alfred's shoulders visibly slumped and his pout turned into a sorrowful look. He watched Arthur go through security and as the other walked to the other side, he turned to look over his shoulder and wave at Alfred who waved with little energy. Arthur then disappeared around the corner.

"I forgot to tell him I loved him…" Alfred muttered to himself and he felt someone lay a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Matthew standing next to him, a sympathetic look on his face, Francis standing a bit behind his half-brother.

"You okay?"

"No right now…" Alfred muttered and turned with Matthew as the three left the airport.

Alfred rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in his arms which were folded in front of himself, propped up on a pillow. He hated how quiet and empty the hotel room now was without Arthur in it. Even if Arthur was a quiet guy, there always was either the turn of a page, the sound of the bed sheets when he shifted his weight on the bed across from Alfred's or the scribbling of a pencil on notepaper. Now, it was deathly silent and Alfred didn't like it at all.

The atmosphere of the room even seemed to have gotten emptier and dare he say colder. Whether that was the air conditioning at work, Alfred didn't care—he was horribly lonely at the moment. He really wished he hadn't kissed Ivan back at Ludwig's party not too long ago, then he and Arthur wouldn't have fought and they would've had more time together. He'd do anything to have Arthur curled up next to him at the current moment.

Again, Alfred rolled over in bed, now laying spread eagle on the mattress, staring directly up at the ceiling. He sighed and closed his eyes, clenching and unclenching his hand. His eyes snapped open when he heard someone knocking on the door and his mind managed to trick himself into thinking that it was Arthur for a brief moment before he had to remind himself that Arthur wasn't in America any more.

"Coming," Alfred called, his voice basically painted the picture of how unenthusiastic and unenergetic Alfred felt. He opened the door and found Matthew standing at the door way with that sympathetic smile on his face. He let his half-brother into his now solo hotel room and he then seated himself on one of the beds while Matthew seated himself in one of the chairs by a small table.

"So, how're you doing Al?" the Canadian asked, folding his hands in his lap in a way Arthur would always do. Alfred sighed at the reminder and trained his gaze to the ceiling.

"Not so great Mattie…hey, do you think we could go play off in another country?" Alfred asked and Matthew glanced up at the ceiling as if Alfred's question was ridiculous.

"You're being ridiculous Al," he started, glancing back down at Alfred without tilting his head back down, giving him that 'holier than thou' looks. Alfred huffed and fell back onto his back, allowing himself to bounce on the mattress a bit. "…But I guess we could see what we could do," he continued and Alfred immediately jumped up.

"Really? You think so?" his voice was full of childish excitement. "Oh, thank you Mattie!" he then continued, bounding over to Matthew and pulling him into a tight hug, spinning his half-brother in happy circles.

"Don't get your hopes up Al!" Matthew giggled as he was twirled around and around before being set back into his seat thankfully. Alfred placed his hands on his hips, but that grin never left.

"Well, I'll keep my hopes up anyways—so did you want to talk about anything else with me?" Alfred asked.

"One, take your hands off of your hips, only Arthur, Francis and I can do that," Alfred snickered at that and settled with crossing his arms. "Secondly, we've got a concert in two hours, so let's go get some rehearsal in," Matthew continued. Alfred nodded his head in agreement and was about to turn and tell a nonexistent Arthur to get ready, luckily managing to stop himself before he fully completed the turn. Matthew caught that though, but didn't say anything much to Alfred's relief.

Alfred approached Yao who was currently tuning his violin backstage, the concert about to start in about a minute. "You ready?" he asked, grinning down at the Chinese boy who was seated before him. Yao nodded his head, humming in response as he ran the bow over the strings. "Man, I can't thank you enough for helping us compose all of those songs," Alfred smiled, seating himself in the seat next to Yao. "I don't even know how I should repay you."

"I'll think of something," Yao muttered as he twisted one of the knobs at the head of the violin, side glancing at Alfred, smiling at the American before continuing with his task. "Where are Matthew, Francis and Kiku?"

"Mattie's with Francis double checking a few things and Kiku's running over a few melodies with his keyboard," Alfred answered, Yao humming once more in response. "But seriously, come up with something soon at least—don't put me in debt man, you're Chinese and I'm an American," Alfred grinned and Yao laughed at the observation.

"Don't worry—I said I'll come up with something," Yao chuckled, setting the violin in its case, but not closing the lid. "So we gonna go out pretty soon? Sounds like a loud crowd tonight," Yao then remarked.

"Yeah, I think we should go out when Francis and Mattie come back," Alfred nodded his head, leaning back in his seat, stretching his arms high into the air with a yawn. "Man, I tired…"

"Get lots of sleep on your way to Virginia then," Yao stated, leaning back in his seat as well, running his fingers over and through his ponytail as Alfred hummed in agreement, eyes closed, his head tilted back so that he was staring up at the sky.

Francis and Matthew reappeared and had to shake Alfred to notify him that they had returned. With a nod, another yawn and another stretching of his body, the five set out for the stage, Alfred and Yao waving at their audience happily as they were cheered on.

They started the concert with Everything I Ask For. Alfred didn't exactly feel like he normally did when he performed too and his band mates could tell. He really hoped that the crowd didn't though. But by the time they were almost done with the song, Alfred was fully awake and bouncing along with the song, singing it almost as energetically as he would have if Arthur was present.

Sing followed, Matthew opening them followed by Kiku whose keyboard's volume had been turned down for the moment. Francis was standing almost right next to Alfred, bouncing his head to the beat and glancing over at Alfred, sending him a grin as if to cheer Alfred up. Alfred really loved the chorus too, so he made sure to put some extra energy into it. He glanced back at Matthew one moment and grinned back at his half-brother who stopped the drum beating with one hand to give Alfred a thumbs up before returning to the drum beat. Alfred loved Matthew's expression when he was playing the chorus—Matthew looked so absorbed in it all. About half way into the song, Francis was bouncing in his place, another humorous thing Alfred made sure he watched every concert.

Francis started off If Today was Your Last Day for them, Matthew following and eventually Alfred joining with the lyrics. Yao was backup for this song much like he was for Sing and Everything I Ask For. Matthew threw both drumsticks high in the air, catching them on their way back down after the chorus about halfway through the song, their crowd cheering loudly at the action. Alfred turned over his shoulder and gave a thumbs up at Matthew who nodded his head back at his half-brother. During the bridge of the song, Francis had somehow lost his shirt, Matthew turning a bright red and the crowd screaming in approval.

Then they finished with a song Yao had helped them compose, Alfred having titled it Emerald Green for multiple reasons. It opened with a, quoted by said American an 'epically amazetastic violin kick assery' which was soon followed by Francis who would some fancy guitar playing. Matthew would then jump in with only the bass drum and then Alfred would start singing. This was one of the many songs Yao had helped Alfred compose. Alfred found himself wishing that Arthur was there to hear the song.

When they concluded that song, which consisted of a fancy five second melody by Kiku on his keyboard, Alfred pumped a fist in the air and the crowd cheered. He did the normal, thanking them for being present and turned to grin at his band mates. "Amazing as usual my peeps."

"Ha, ha, I'm so happy we could play Emerald Green tonight, I just feel like it was the right time," Francis stated, stretching his arms high into the air. "Oh, and Matthew, the part where you threw your drumsticks in the air during that Nickelback song was sexy _mon amour_," he then grinned, pulling Matthew closer to his chest.

"Oh stop it," Matthew smiled, blushing none the less. "Oh, and I heard the CD's are going to be delivered to us tonight, Al, could you come with me to pick 'em up?" Matthew then asked after he had managed to wiggle out of Francis's embrace.

"Sure thing half-bro!" Alfred grinned, flashing Matthew one of his megawatt grins whilst giving him a thumbs up. "C'mon, let's go pick them up right now, I'm sure they've got them waiting for us."

Francis, Yao and Kiku watched the two leave and the Frenchman turned to the other two with a smile. "Alfred's kinda…low energy could you tell in the beginning of the concert?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets, having yet to put his shirt back on which was discarded near the spot he was standing at for a majority of the concert.

"You can put your shirt back on," Yao chuckled, pointing his index finger at the clothing laying on the floor.

"Aww, you're no fun—it's hot up here anyways," Francis complained, showing no sign of going over to put his shirt back on. Yao simply rolled his eyes and reinforced his statement and eventually Francis went over to pick up the piece of clothing and tug it back over his exposed torso. "C'mon guys, we've got to go to the meet and greet," Francis announced, jumping off stage and bounding over to the location of said event, Yao and Kiku following a bit unenthusiastically, Heracles joining Kiku on the way.

"Sweet, this is so cool," Alfred grinned down at the CD cover that featured him, Matthew, Arthur and Yao on it, the four of them forming some sort of pyramid. Alfred remembered that vividly, Matthew and Arthur had teamed up on Alfred, saying that he was too heavy to be on the top of the pyramid, which explained why he was supporting both Matthew and Arthur, Yao on top of said two, one foot on each of the shoulders that faced each other. The Chinese boy had freaked out with how shaky they were and eventually, they all toppled down, though they were laughing.

The CD had ten song on it, three songs out of ten Yao had helped them compose were on it. It started with Your Call and was followed by Bonjour, a duet Matthew, Francis and Yao had written, Yao finding a nice melody to it. Alfred loved it for some reason. O Namae Wa then followed it, a song Yao and Kiku composed, though Kiku did most of it for more than half of the song was in Japanese. Another song Yao had assisted in composing that was on the CD was DC and London. Alfred remembered first practicing its polished version with Arthur and it had been a blast. Then Wavin' Flag was next, featuring Antonio who sang the Spanish part to it. Then there was High School Never Ends, Far Away, I Know How to Say, Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman and finally Camera Shy.

"This CD sounds kick ass already and I haven't even listened to it," Alfred grinned. "When are they going to be released publicly?"

"That's another week from now I think I recall," Matthew answered as he flipped the CD open and extracted the cover that their pyramid photo was printed on, unfolding the paper to read what was inside. "But I have to agree with you, this looks pretty awesome."

"Yeah, too bad Artie couldn't get his, I'll have to get his address and mail this to him," Alfred waved the second CD case in his hand. Matthew nodded his head as they headed down to the meet and greet.

Arthur sighed as he unpacked his belongings. Turns out he wouldn't exactly be left alone at home either. He extracted a bag and furrowed his eyebrows—he couldn't exactly remember seeing this. Opening the bag, he then remembered what the bag came from. It was from that small shop Kiku had brought him and Matthew to on Matthew's first day out of the hospital. He smiled at the two flags that were crossed, serving as the pendant.

He had forgotten to give this to Alfred.

XXXX

**Everything I Ask For by The Maine**

**Sing by My Chemical Romance**

**If Today was Your Last Day by Nickelback**

**Your Call by Secondhand Serenade**

**Wavin' Flag by K'naan and David Bisbal**

**High School Never Ends by Bowling for Soup**

**Far Away by Nickelback**

**I Know How to Say by 3OH!3**

**Camera Shy by Schoolboy humor**

**O namae Wa – What's your name?**

** Lol all of the songs that Yao helped them compose aren't real and I don't even have lyrics for them :D Just pulled words out of thin air and used my imagination. Lol, I'd really love to hear Bonjour :D It sounds awesome :D Sorry if it's late and short too...Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :D**


	22. Chapter 22

** Lol, I'm sick…again. Sucks a lot and can barely eat TT^TT But other than my useless complaining, enjoy the twenty second (?) chapter ;)**

**XXXX**

Arthur slammed the door to the apartment his rather large family lived in loudly as he entered, rubbing the back of his neck in irritation along with muttering about fans not leaving him alone even here. It wasn't as bad as it was in America, but he still wanted to walk down the street and not have five people follow him. School was being a pain too—much worse than before he left for America.

The only upside to his day so far was that he had received a package from America, likely from Alfred. He didn't know what it could've been unless he was forgetting something. At the current moment, it seemed that neither of his four siblings or his parents were home and he was thankful for that. He was especially happy that he didn't have to deal with Peter.

Arthur entered his room and set the box on his bed so he could take his shoes off and place them in the closet built into the wall. He then turned around and picked the package back up, grabbing a scissors from his desk and cut the thin rectangular box open. He smiled when he saw one half of the pyramid he, Matthew, Alfred and Yao had tried to make during that photo shoot for the CD they had recorded for a week before Arthur left for home. His smile widened when he saw the slightly panicked look on Yao's face too. He wondered how good it was selling in America.

Standing up, Arthur headed over to his small stereo system and opened the CD case on his way, thankful that it wasn't wrapped. He pulled the disk out with his thumb and index finger before setting it into the stereo system, pressing the eject button so that the slot would go back into the system before finally pressing the play button.

Your Call came on since it was the first track and he could tell that it was him playing the guitar. He plopped himself onto his bed just as Alfred's voice came on and nothing could've made him happier at the moment.

_September 4_

_Philadalfia Pensilvania_

_ Its so lonely without Arty here…so lonely, I feel like Im gonna die –Sad face drawn here- Matys doing his best to keep me in good spirits to, I can tell. Man, how the hell do you spell Pensilvania? Arty would've definitly helped me out with this._

_ We're off to Pitsburg after this place to and we're staying there for a bit before going to Bufalo New York according to Maty. Can't wait to get their to! _

_ I loled when I saw Oxford in New York on a map. Isnt Oxford that place with the super nice coleg in England? America even has a Toledo like Spain! This is actualy kinda funny –smiley face drawn here-_

_ Hey isn't this littel area of states also considered New England or something? That's awesome –smiley face drawn here- Hm, I wander why we're not going to Boston…_

_ HOLY SHIT MATY JUST TOLD ME THEIR'S A LONDON IN CANADA –super happy face drawn here- Just cheked the map and aparently its pretty close to where we are right now. It has lake Huron and lake Erie on each side of it. Ha, ha, Matys such a Canada freak, like Francophiles, Japanophiles and Anglophiles, I just dont know what the one for Canada's called –happy face drawn here-_

_ I'm kinda disapointed that we didn't go too Texas, that would've been awesome. Washington would've bean nice to…Man I miss Arty –sad face drawn here-_

_ That's all for now._

Alfred shut his journal and tossed it on top of a pile of clothes he was supposed to be packing up since they were getting ready to leave. "Alfred, get packing," ah, leave it to Matthew to remind him when he didn't need the note. With a slightly aggravated sigh, Alfred scooted himself off of the bed and seated himself on the floor to stuff his clothes into his bag whilst wondering if Arthur got the CD by now.

"Man Mattie, I miss Artie…"

"You've already told me that…" Matthew muttered, glancing over at Alfred. Alfred huffed and stuffed a shirt into the bag a bit too dramatically. Alfred seemed like he was about to make an argument, but stopped himself, having exhausted all of his reasons two days ago. Matthew sighed and finished up his packing.

"Pennsylvania…do they mass produce pencils here or something?"

"It's just a name Alfred you dolt," Matthew shook his head, smiling to himself none the less. Alfred pouted, folding his arms childishly before stuffing more clothes messily into his bag unlike Matthew who had folded all of his.

"I was just wondering…" Alfred then said after a bit of silence and Matthew chuckled to himself. He then stood up and told Alfred they'd be waiting for him on the bus. Alfred nodded his head in response without stopping his task and Matthew left the room.

Alfred sighed and sat back on his bottom, staring into his bag that would obviously be a challenge to zip shut with how unorganized his clothes were, sticking out here and there.

Alfred stepped onto the bus, tossing his bag under a seat before plopping himself in a seat across from Matthew. "I actually kinda like this place," Alfred started, hanging his arms over the back of his seat. "Though I am kinda bummed that I never got a Philly cheese-steak," he continued and Francis had to roll his eyes at the statement.

"Again, you're a dolt," Matthew reinforced his earlier statement. Alfred stuck his tongue out at his half-brother before falling silent.

"So—off to Pittsburg?" Alfred asked and Kiku nodded his head. "Alright driver, let's go!' he grinned at their driver and the guy nodded his head before starting the bus up. Alfred turned his attention back to his four friends, Yao having replaced Heracles two days ago when Heracles had to go back to California.

He and Matthew began talking about cities, Alfred starting said conversation with mentioning that he'd never heard of a London in Canada. Matthew then began giving little tidbits off to Alfred. "There's a New London in Connecticut," he started.

"Whoa really?"

"Yep, oh and that strand of hair that always sticks up?" Matthew pointed at the strand of hair that stuck up from Alfred's head, the other nodding in recognition, urging his half-brother to go on. "It looks a lot like Nantucket island—it's an island off the coast of Massachusetts," Matthew continued. "By that curl of land Massachusetts has."

"Dude, that's awesome," Alfred grinned, glancing up at the piece of hair that stuck up, though unsuccessful with what he was trying to do, it being just out of his sight giving that it was atop his head. "These can be Texas then," Alfred grinned, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he said that.

Matthew, slightly confused at the choice, tilted his head to the side slightly. "Why?"

"I dunno—'cause Texas is cool?" Alfred shrugged his shoulders, grinning at his half-brother.

"It's hot there," Francis said from his seat, lying on his back and lazily tinkering with a wrist watch he had managed to get for himself without being mobbed at a jewelry store.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Alfred rolled his eyes at the joke. "Our hearts can be the capitals of the countries!" he then continued, changing the topic back to what he and Matthew were talking about.

"What the hell are you talking about anyways?" Francis then asked, rolling onto his side to look at Alfred who then explained what he and his half-brother were talking about. Francis could only cock an eyebrow and glance at Matthew who shrugged his shoulders in response. "Oh, just so you know, there's a place called Die in France."

Alfred was silent for a brief moment before bursting out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Francis and Matthew could only side glance at each other. "It probably isn't pronounced like…_die_ like in English since it's French…" Matthew then pointed out to Alfred.

"I know, but it's still really funny!" Alfred giggled.

"I'm laughing my ass off…" Francis let his head fall back onto the cushioned couch like seat he was stretched out on. Alfred just continued laughing and Matthew began to question the other's sanity with how overly happy he seemed—overly meaning more happy than he normally is since Alfred always seems overly happy.

"Oh hey Mattie, how many concerts are we gonna play in Pittsburg anyways?" Alfred asked once he had managed to stop his fit. He shifted in his seat so that he was stretched out like Francis was as Matthew took out a notebook of his own.

"We're doing four concerts, two on the sixth," he answered after scanning the contents of the book.

"Cool, hey are we performing with that Gilbort guy again too?" Alfred asked once more, grinning when Francis began snickering to himself as he put the wristwatch on.

"His name's Gilbert…"

"Dude, are you seriously still carrying a torch for that guy?" Alfred asked, pushing himself into an upright position as he shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I mean…didn't something happen back at that party at Ludwig's? I saw you on the floor and Gilbert looked pretty pissed and—what happened?"

Matthew seemed reluctant to answer and Francis had fallen silent as well. Alfred blinked a few times, a bit confused at the strange behavior the two were displaying. "So did things like, go out of whack for all of us during that party?"

"Basically…" Matthew answered, looking up at Alfred. "Gilbert and Francis got into a fight and I tried to stop them—that was why you saw me on the floor. And then you stormed out with Ivan, man I just realized how we all were in kind of a situation," he continued, rubbing the back of his head.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Alfred questioned, his voice slightly angry. "Dude, I can kick his ass for you—Francis help me out here."

"Oh hush it," Yao grunted from his spot near the back of the bus, an arm slung over his eyes. "You're the one that would get his ass whooped," the Chinese violinist continued, grinning at the American who stuck his tongue out, denying Yao's claim.

"So Francis—you got into a fight with that rapper…" Alfred then remarked, glancing at Francis who nodded his head in a rather casual way. "Awesome."

"Don't encourage it!" Matthew yelped, smacking Alfred on the shoulder as he leant forward so he could do so. Alfred started laughing as he tried to swat Matthew's hand away.

"Ha, ha! You're so slow!"

"Shut up, I'm handicapped!"

"But those are your legs!"

"Alfred!" Francis, Yao and Kiku simply ignored the interaction in between the two partial siblings, Francis and Yao sticking ear buds into their ears so they could drown the two out with music. "Okay Alfred, that's enough!" Matthew yelped as he tried to fend of his half-brother whose weapon of choice was a pillow. "Alfred!"

"Ha, ha, Canada has surrendered to the largest superpower the world has ever seen!" Alfred whooped as Matthew shoved the other off of him, folding his arms as he glanced down at Alfred who didn't seem very intent on getting up from the floor.

"No way, we're just signing a treaty," Matthew huffed and Alfred simply continued to grin up at Matthew, chanting 'you surrender' in a sing-song voice.

XXXX

**Why are all of my chapters so freaking short…:( Oh well, hopefully I can make up for it next chapter—this one's just…midget size…(No offense…) I'm still taking song suggestions too :) Aight, please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends.**


	23. Chapter 23

** Hm, hm, Merry Christmas everyone :D I wuv joo all D Over one twenty reviews…I know it isn't much for a story that's exceeded twenty chapters, but it lifts my heart nonetheless. So on to the twenty third chapter :) Enjoy~**

**XXXX**

_September 11_

_ New York City, New York_

_ Sometimes I wander why we have a consert today . Oh well. Nooo after tonight we're done –Sad face drawn here- I don't want it too end. Gilbert insisted that he preform with us tonight to. Can't he just leave us alone?_

_ We're gonna record Summer of '09 after the consert and I'm totaly gonna email it too Arty –Smiley face drawn here- It's so awesome, Maty's gonna be singing the girls part so its like hes singing to Frenchy. Of coarse I'm gonna be singing the guys part because I don't make a good girl (I'm to manly). I'm obviously gonna be singing too Arty to –Smiley face drawn here- Hope he likes it when I email it too him. That songs super fun to sing, especialy the korus. _

_ Dammit, Gilbert hasn't heared of privacy hasn't he? He does seam kinda watered down though witch makes me wander about what happened to the guy. Francis almost ripped his head off when he tried to get closer to Maty yesterday to. _

_ Man, I'm also kinda bumed about Wang-man being gone to. He left yesterday. He helped me compoas music and was a good adishion to The United Nations. I miss him. Oh well, we can colaberate some other time again hopefuly –smiley face drawn here- Man, that just reminded me of how much I miss Arty –super sad face drawn here-_

_ That's all for now._

With a sigh, he set the notebook next to himself. This was the last hotel they'd be staying in before they head back home in California. The thought of going back to school was horrid too. The tour had been so much fun that it went by like a speeding car—too fast. He missed Arthur and Yao and didn't want to have homework shoved onto him once he returned. At least he could still see Matthew, Francis and Kiku at school, but everyone else such as Yao and a few others they probably wouldn't be seeing for a while. "Mattie I don't wanna go back to school!"

"Everything has to end eventually Al," Matthew sighed as he turned a page to the book his was reading, currently lying on his back on Alfred's bed. Once Arthur and Heracles had left, Kiku and Alfred had agreed on having separate rooms to themselves other than sharing, the two didn't feel like sharing a room with each other apparently. That still didn't keep the loneliness away.

"You're not making things any better…" Alfred huffed, crossing his arms and aiming a pout towards Matthew. Matthew simply ignored him and continued reading his book. Alfred gave up on trying to get Matthew's attention by staring at him and rolled onto his back as loudly as possible, letting out a loud exhale as he did so. "So…what're you gonna do when we get home?" he asked, slightly changing the subject in hopes of killing the silence. Alfred didn't like the silence.

"Have a proper breakfast," Matthew answered and Alfred grinned.

"Dude, might have to stay over at your place—I love your pancakes so much!" Alfred piped, rolling onto his stomach, peeking around one side of Matthew's book to grin at his half-brother. "But then again, being in my own bedroom doesn't sound so bad…" he continued, letting his head fall onto the mattress below. "I kinda miss my bedroom," Alfred continued, closing his eyes and imagining that he was in his room. He kinda forgot a few minor details, but he'd update himself once he gets home. "First thing I'll do is hug my bed."

"You're so weird Al," Matthew grinned at his half-brother, finally looking away from the words printed in front of him.

"What? What's wrong with hugging my bed? Dude, I totally miss my bed man! These hotel beds are kinda stiff despite how nice they are…" Alfred huffed, propping himself up on his elbows. "I'm going to play a whole bunch of video games too! Oh hey! Remember when you and Artie stuffed Francis in the…was it the dryer or the washer? Whatever—and hung me out the second story window? That was _so funny_!"

"Yes Alfred, I remember that, you and Francis started yelling about the house being on fire," the Canadian rolled his eyes. "And it wasn't funny, you scared the hell outta me."

"That was the point!" Alfred laughed. "You two were so absorbed into that movie we just _had_ to do that! You went wheelchair ninja on our asses!"

"You kind of deserved it…" Matthew grumbled, forcing himself back into his book. "And if it weren't for Arthur, you probably wouldn't have been hanging out the window…"

"I know, but just the way you whooped Francis's ass was so freaking funny!"

"What are you two talking about?" Francis asked from the doorway which was propped open with a doorstop, his guitar slung over his shoulder. "The time Matthew stuffed me into the washing machine?"

"_Yes!" _Alfred whooped. "That was awesome!"

"Was not, Matthew threatened to turn it on…" Francis whined, though a perverted look soon crossed over his face. Alfred and Matthew both decided to ignore that part. "Oh and when do you think we should be going to rehearse? Concert starts in two hours."

"Yeah, we should be going about now," Matthew said, closing his book after folding the corner of the page down. "C'mon Alfred, no more wheel chair ninja talk—let's go, I'll whoop your asses again some other time," Matthew grinned at Alfred as Francis helped the Canadian into his wheelchair. Alfred laughed and jumped off of the bed.

"Aww, you're the best Mattie!"

Gilbert tried to talk with Matthew and Alfred (since Alfred was standing next to Matthew) once they finished a few touch ups during rehearsal. They were currently backstage and the thing that was irritating the silver haired teen the most was how Alfred kept talking over him, trying to keep Matthew's attention and sending him warning looks. Why did everyone in _The United Nations_ hate him? Frenchie wasn't very nice—went crazy on his ass when he tried to touch Matthew and now Burger Boy (he'd learnt that Alfred was a burger fanatic) was staring at him strangely.

"So Mattie, when's your mom coming home anyways?" Alfred asked, still sending that irritated smile at Gilbert who was seated in a chair next to the American, arms folded moodily.

Matthew smiled at the mentioning of his mother. "She's coming back the sixteenth—got an e-mail from her not too long ago. She's kinda upset that the tour interfered with school…"

"Ha, ha typical mother for ya," Alfred grinned, Matthew nodding his head in agreement with his half-brother. Alfred sent that suspicious look towards Gilbert once more and the red eyed teen sent an expression back that read 'what the hell are you looking at me like that for?' before glancing away moodily when Alfred returned to talking with his Canadian half-brother. Alfred could tell that Gilbert wished that he had a close bond with Matthew. "So, when're you expected out of the wheelchair half-bro?"

Matthew's smile only widened. "Latest is early November if rehabilitation doesn't go well."

"Dude, that's awesome! Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas! We should throw a huge concert for winter break, it'll be amazingly awesome!" Alfred grinned, his irritation dissolving briefly, having forgotten about Gilbert's presence.

"We should be going out in about ten minutes," Francis announced as he walked back stage, guitar still slung over his shoulder. Sometimes the guy was just down right married to the thing.

"Cool, hey I gotta go double check on some things first," Alfred announced, nodding his head before turning back to Gilbert to give him another warning look. "Don't try anything dude," he then growled and left. Gilbert didn't know that Matthew had told Alfred about what had happened, so he didn't understand why Alfred was being such a sourpuss about him just hanging out with Matthew.

He watched the American turn a corner before tugging at Matthew's shirt, standing up as he did so. "Can I talk with you?" his voice was slightly irritated as he said that and Matthew went as far as looking intimidated. The Canadian nodded shyly and wheeled himself alongside Gilbert out the double doors that led into a hallway. "Please don't tell me you're seriously still with that Frenchie guy?"

"Wha—? Of course I am why?" Matthew asked, a bit thrown off by the sudden question. One could even call it an accusation.

"Because he totally got your leg broken in the first place! Don't you hate being in that wheelchair? You've been in it forever—are you even sure you fully forgive Frenchie dude?"

"What do you mean Gilbert? We were all confused back then. Arthur and Alfred were pretty screwed up and Alfred sent Arthur to talk with Francis and they messed things up a bit too—it's all of our faults, not just Francis's."

"But—but still! How can you forgive him?" Gilbert was being desperate now.

Seeing how upset the other had become, Matthew smiled lightly to himself as he thought over his next words. They may hurt Gilbert, but if it would straighten him out at least in the slightest, then he'd give it a shot. "Because I love him. I mean—yeah he flirts and all of that, but I've learnt not to take that to heart, it's who he is," he answered, blushing a bit at what he said despite himself.

"And again, it wasn't just Francis that got my leg broken, it was all of us—_The United Nations_ together. We were pretty screwed up and I get it. Al hadn't seen Arthur in such a long time and vice versa, Francis and I were on complicated terms—I guess you could say Kiku was the mediator. But look at us now, we're all together after all of that and I forgive everyone, Arthur for letting Francis kiss him and Alfred for starting it in the first place even though it was unintentional. We do seem like we've got everything figured out now, but remember Ludwig's party? Alfred and Arthur hadn't set any boundaries ahead of time and Francis and I were just figuring things out. I've dedicated myself to Francis okay?"

"I could still treat you better…"

"Not that I'm blaming you or anything, you helped us get messed up in the first place," Matthew pointed out, guilt seeping into his heart when he saw the brief flash of hurt flash in the rappers eyes. "But I'd like to thank you."

Gilbert looked up in astonishment, obviously having not expected for the drummer to thank him. As he looked up, Matthew had tugged him down and kissed him on the lips very, _very _briefly. Gilbert wasn't even sure if it happened or not. "Don't worry," Matthew started. "You'll eventually find someone other than me," and the Canadian turned the wheelchair to wheel himself back backstage. "Oh, and you have six minutes before show time."

He slid onto the ground and ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. Okay, he got it. He was never going to get Matthew. Note taken—but that still didn't mean that it hurt his heart like hell. After a long, slow minute or silence, Gilbert hesitantly pulled out his cellular and dialed a number.

After a bit of ringing, he was brought to voice mail. "Hey Roderich. Just wanna say hi and all…could you meet me somewhere? I dunno—anywhere, you choose, I'm not up to it…"

Their first song was Where Were You. Matthew didn't think that Gilbert was much of a singer, but when the guy got into it, he was pretty good. Sometimes he's slip up here and there, but the guy was an expert at fixing his mistakes contrary to popular belief. Alfred was singing with his eyes closed, something he'd picked up from Arthur somehow. The American would normally sing with his eyes open, but now that Matthew actually looked at it (he looked up at the large screens behind them sometimes) Alfred had his eyes closed for a majority of the song. Francis was obviously a dancer when he was playing—Matthew sometimes wondered if his boyfriend even knew it. With their lack of songs with pianos or keyboards in them, Kiku's other role was backup singer. Matthew took a mental note to find a few more songs with pianos or keyboards in them.

The second song was Secret Valentine and he immediately wondered what he'd do for Valentine's Day. Even though it was quite a ways away, Matthew couldn't help but wonder. He wondered what Alfred would do since Arthur probably wasn't able to come over in February. Gilbert was also a pretty okay guitar player. He was their second guitarist for this song. He wasn't a dancer like Francis, but still tapped his foot along with the music and nodded his head to the beat. Kiku again, ended up being a backup singer and Matthew made a note to really find a lot of songs with pianos or keyboards in them. Alfred was doing the same thing, feeling bad for his Japanese friend not exactly able to do what he majored in.

Francis started them off for I Must be Dreaming. Alfred really liked the melody to this song—specifically the first verse. He opened his eyes and glanced over at Francis who was having his own fun (not in a perverted way ;)) and then even farther back at his half-brother. Sometimes he was still really amazed that Matthew was able to pull such beats off. He just managed to catch his relative tossing both drumsticks high into the air as well. It was something Matthew seemed to really have fun with doing.

Kiku was finally able to play his keyboard for Forever Yours. Matthew then followed in, bouncing to the beat on the stool he was seated on. Gilbert was Alfred's backup for this song as well. The American wouldn't admit it out loud, but Gilbert was pretty good if the silver haired guy wanted to. Unbeknownst to him Matthew had been thinking just that not too long ago. He gave Kiku a thumbs up when he turned to look at his friend who was lightly bouncing to the beat. The Japanese boy smiled back at Alfred.

Gilbert then pulled off a few short raps he had written himself, only needing Francis's guitar and Matthew's drumbeat to keep them interesting. Every now and then there'd be a spot in the rap where Kiku would add in a pretty trippy sounding sound effect with his keyboard—Alfred not knowing that the thing was even capable of creating such a noise.

"Ah! Finally finished with cleaning up," Alfred sighed, placing his hands on his hips and glancing at the empty stage as if he were proud of its bland appearance. Well, it wasn't bland, but it was lacking a few amplifiers and all of the instruments that had been used. Everyone had filtered out of the auditorium a while ago as they went back stage after the concert. "Man, I'm gonna miss performing for all of America."

Matthew glanced around a few times, noting that Gilbert must've left while he, Alfred, Francis and Kiku were helping the stage crew clean up. He had wanted to say something to the silver haired teen, but it wasn't super important, so he mentally told himself to remind himself to tell Gilbert said thing when he saw the rapper again. He wondered where Gilbert went, slightly curious. "Man, we're _finally_ done with the tour though…" Matthew muttered.

"Yeah, but I'm still bummed about that—it was so much fun…" Alfred sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, we _do_ still have one last thing to do," he continued with a small smile. Matthew nodded his head.

"Yep, better head off for that and go straight home—man I just can't wait to get home," Matthew stretched his arms high into the air and yawned. "Man, I might have to take a nap on the plane," he continued. "Uh…what do they do with the handicapped on a plane?" Matthew then remembered to ask. Since they were the band and didn't exactly need to book their flights, Matthew had forgotten to ask what would happen with those in wheelchairs.

"Don't worry about that, our temporary manager has booked you an aisle seat," Francis answered, placing a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Ooh—imagine having our own jet?" he then grinned, Alfred piping up immediately, making Matthew wish that Francis hadn't brought that up.

Before Alfred could say something, Matthew interrupted. "Come on guys, we don't want to be late."

"Sounds good, sounds good," Alfred grinned. "Yeah, this is totally being e-mailed to Artie," he continued, pressing the ear muff closer to the side of his head. They had had headphones, not ear buds, made specifically for them. They were _The United Nations_ themed, the muff design being with the American, French, Canadian, Japanese and British flags. Alfred had been surprised that they had been generous enough to add the British flag, but he was happy about that. It deemed Arthur apart of their little group of awesomeness. Then on the dark grey bands that went over your head, their first and last names were printed.

Alfred's in red white and blue, each letter alternating in between the three colors. Francis's were arranged so that they looked like the French flag was put inside of the letters, first five letters blue, middle five white and last five red. Matthew's were white and red, in a similar fashion to Francis's color arrangement. Kiku's name was also white and red, but in the middle of the 'Ho' in Honda was a red circle. Alfred wondered what Arthur's looked like since they had just gotten them a few days ago. Probably had them shipped to him.

"Ha, ha, Mattie didn't know you could sound like a girl."

"What do you mean? I think I sound like a guy in this…" Matthew muttered. They had currently had the song they had just recorded, Summer of '09, downloaded onto their iPods. Alfred and Matthew were listening to it since they were the ones that had sung for it—Francis saying that he'd listen to it on the plane. They were currently on their way to the airport, this being their last ride on this bus since it wasn't theirs.

"Come on Al, help us clean this place," Matthew tugged on Alfred's sleeve as he, Francis and Kiku cleaned up the interior of the bus, making sure they had all of their belongings.

"Fine," Alfred huffed, pausing the music and removing his headphones, setting them on his seat as he bent over to look under said seat for anything of great importance that he wouldn't want to leave behind. There were a few pencils down there from his excessive journal writing, but that was Mattie's fault for making him write them in the first place. Alfred didn't pick any of the pencils up anyways, he enjoyed making Matthew buy him new ones whenever he lost them. "Kinda disappointing that we never really got to do what we wanted to do like my Philly Cheesesteak…"

"That's what you get with these kinds of things," Matthew sighed.

"Dude, you're such a killjoy," Alfred huffed, grinning at his half-brother despite the slight insult. He straightened out when he felt his phone vibrating in his pockets, announcing a new text message. Tugging it out of his pocket, Alfred flipped it open and smiled. "Mattie, dad's gonna meet us at the airport," he then turned the device so his half-brother could see the screen as if it he was trying to prove a point.

Matthew smiled. "Thanks for telling me."

"Ugh, don't remind me…" Francis groaned, sitting up from his spot in the aisle of the bus. "Mom's gonna ravish me when I get home…" he continued at Alfred began snickering.

"Dude, I'm totally gonna video that and sell it to the public," the American grinned and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, my mother's the same way," Kiku smiled himself, shaking his head to himself. Now that Alfred thought about it—going home didn't sound so bad.

It was currently eleven at night in California, though the airport was still buzzing with activity. Alfred and Matthew's father was currently talking with Francis's father, the taller of the two, talking about his two sons while the other listened. Kiku and Francis's mothers were talking to each other not too far from the two fathers, Kiku's mother hardly able to pick up on Francis's mother's French-English speech.

"They should be back any minute now if I did my math right…"

"HI DAD!" Alfred yelled from across the large area they were in, having dropped his suitcase and rushing over to his father. Matthew watched fondly as Alfred and their father embraced, Alfred telling him about how 'amazingly awesome' the tour was as Matthew asked Kiku to take Alfred's stuff which he had dropped.

"Hey dad," Matthew smiled as he stopped the wheelchair just in front of his shared father who smiled broadly down at his first son and bent over to hug him. "Always miss ya," Matthew added once they separated. It had a double meaning too. (1) The two half-brothers grinned and looked over their shoulders when they heard a lot of French being spoken behind them. Francis was currently, as he had predicted, being showered with hugs and kisses from his mother who cooed about missing him so much. His father was standing in an almost embarrassed air next to her, asking her in French is she would let their son have some air.

"_Il a eu assez d'air,"_ she then remarked smartly before returning to squeezing her son. Francis sent his two band mates an expression that clearly read 'help me'. Unfortunately, Matthew and Alfred simply remained in their spots, giggling to each other as Alfred whipped out his phone and started recording some video. Kiku was currently going through the same thing, just that he wasn't complaining like the wavy haired blond not too far to his right.

"Yeah, it's awesome to be home," Alfred grinned, clapping his half-brother on the shoulder. "Ya know what? I'm actually glad that the tour's over."

XXXX

** Summer of '09 by ALL CAPS (Amazing song :D)**

**Where Were You by Every Avenue**

** Secret Valentine by We the Kings**

** I Must be Dreaming by The Maine**

** Forever Yours by Alex Day **

** Il a eu assez d'air – He's had enough air**

**(1) "Always miss ya" – Lol, if you can figure out the double meaning cookies for you :D**

**Do you guys still remember that chapter 8D I think it was the fourteenth one XD Lol, sorry about not knowing any rap songs either :P I fail at life…Yay, I feel so accomplished for finally getting almost up to four thousand words again :D Lately I've been doing a whole bunch of fail chapters that barely go past twenty five hundred :P SO! Their tour's over, but the story isn't over yet either :D Does that make you happy 8D If not I don't know what to say…So please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	24. Chapter 24

** Okay, things will be picking up a bit after this chapter hopefully :D The last few have been boring and bland and just—just…stuff. This one's also pretty boring, but it tells of exciting things that will happen to our dearies. Enjoy :D**

**XXXX**

Once they had returned to school, things slowly fell back into a normal routine. Wake up, go to school, maybe visit each other go back to sleep, rinse and repeat. The only difference was that they were mobbed by other students begging for photographs, autographs and whether they read the tabloids or not, asked for dates. Matthew noted that Francis flirted with others less often as well and he was happy about that.

Alfred was the busiest of the four when it came to fans. Matthew once caught his half-brother in the middle of three girls fighting over him and he truthfully felt pretty bad for his relative. The guy was already with someone, but was still pestered about creating relationships, so Matthew always found himself helping Alfred out the best he could. He once asked Francis to flirt with them to get them away from the American. The French teen had refused to as well—that was a first. Francis refusing to flirt with someone and even have permission from his own boyfriend.

Kiku and Heracles (Alfred was surprised Heracles went to the same school as them) remained cool with it all and would sometimes ignore them if it was absolutely necessary. But since Kiku was a nice guy, he'd sign things for fans and take a few photos, though he'd restricted himself to three a day, not wanting to damage his eyesight from the flashing of the cameras. They once had a news crew ask to visit the school during school hours near the beginning of October. Of course Alfred was happy to be on camera, but the principal hadn't fulfilled the request.

The school seemed to suddenly get busier as well. Just last year they were left alone, one or two girls asking Alfred out because he was good looking. Matthew was completely ignored along with Kiku and Francis flirted with basically anything that breathed. Matthew remembered the year Francis flirted with his French teacher in the middle of class. But now Alfred had about thirty girls and the occasional guy asking him out a day. Matthew was constantly asked questions and a few girls asked him out. Kiku was famous with the photographers and Francis had stopped flirting, which earned him even more attention than he had intended.

The football team also wanted to hang out with Alfred much more as well because he was a 'chick-magnet'. Matthew became famous with some beginning drummers that asked him for advice, Francis getting the same thing but with guitarists. Like stated earlier, Kiku was famous with the photographers for some reason which was why he limited himself to three photos a day.

Francis and Matthew were currently walking down the hallway, luckily left alone for the moment. Every now and then Matthew's leg would give out and Francis would have to catch him before the Canadian regained full control of his limb. His limp was visible as well, but not heavy. It was light and if you weren't observant, you probably weren't able to see it from afar. "Man, I'm so glad I'm out of that wheelchair—my legs feel weird," Matthew sighed as he adjusted the text books in his arms.

"Yeah, but are you sure you're not hurting? I mean, that limp looks painful," Francis worried, squeezing Matthew's hand. Matthew rolled his eyes and squeezed Francis's hand back, stepping closer to his boyfriend so their shoulders were pressed together.

"I already told you, I feel no pain. Remember? It'll be permanent, so it's expected that I won't feel it. It only hurts when my leg gives out," Matthew reassured, leaning his head on Francis's shoulder slightly. They were earning adoring looks from other girls as they walked down the hall to their next class for the day—Francis insisted that he be there to catch Matthew when his leg failed him. Matthew smiled to himself—Francis was such a sweet guy that it made him smile and made his heart squeeze at the thought. He couldn't explain how happy he was to have Francis.

Francis grinned mischievously at Matthew. "Well, then that means we can have as much fun as we want and nobody will notice," he let go of Matthew's hand and snaked his arm around Matthew's waist, rubbing his hip. Matthew smiled and elbowed Francis lightly in the ribs, telling the other not to do that in public before stating that they can 'have fun' later. The two waved to Kiku as the Japanese keyboardist walked by, returning the gesture when he spotted them.

They continued on their way when three girls approached them with notebooks grasped in their hands along with pens. "Can you two sign out notebooks please?" one asked hopefully, a large grin stretching at her thin lips.

"Yeah no problem," Matthew smiled and took one notebook while Francis took a different one. The two signed the notebooks and the three girls soon left happy. Matthew glanced up at Francis once they were gone. "Why do people want you to write your name for them? I don't get it," he remarked, hugging Francis closer to him. Francis simply shrugged his shoulders and remarked that he didn't know why.

Alfred then seemingly came out of nowhere as he swung his arms around both of their shoulders, pushing them apart from each other. "Hiya ya two lovebirds!" he greeted enthusiastically, pulling the two closer to him. Francis rolled his eyes and Matthew smiled at his half-brother. "So you two, what're we gonna do tomorrow? It's Halloween in case you forgot," Alfred then asked, glancing at his two friends.

"Uh, I don't know what we're going to do tomorrow, I don't think Francis and I are going to do anything why?" Matthew asked, pushing himself out of Alfred's hold just as Francis did so.

"I'm throwing this huge party at my place tomorrow! I'm gonna announce it tomorrow morning during lunch and hopefully word will spread—actually, I _know_ word will spread," Alfred announced, clapping Matthew on the shoulder. "You two are going to come aren't you?" he then asked hopefully, his grin never dropping. Matthew and Francis glanced at each other.

"Uh, I'll pass," Francis grunted flatly and Alfred deflated slightly.

"B-but why?"

"They only cause us trouble as far as our past experiences go," Francis reasoned, stuffing his hands in his pockets, clearly a bit upset that Alfred had interrupted on his and Matthew's time together. Matthew nodded his head in agreement with his boyfriend and Alfred huffed, folding his arms.

"Well then what should we do?" Alfred asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Act like regular teens," Matthew suggested without leaving a moment in between Alfred's question and his answer.

"Guh…you're boring…" Alfred huffed, unfolding his arms and letting them fall to his sides.

"Well you didn't call me 'Boring Ol' Mattie' for no reason back then," Matthew sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Alfred's gaze fell to the ground and he mumbled an apology once more for calling him that back when they were kids.

"Hey Mattie, we haven't had a concert for a while, what's up?" Alfred then asked. He had noticed lately that they haven't had a concert ever since they returned from the tour and since Matthew's mother was their manager he knew Matthew would know the answer to his curiosity.

"Oh, mom didn't want that to interfere with school and homework, so we're not doing anything until winter break," Matthew answered.

"Man, didn't think I'd ever be bored when I'm famous," Alfred muttered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The first bell then rang, announcing that the three had five minutes until class started. "See you two later!" Alfred waved and turned away from the two, heading off to his next class.

Francis and Matthew arrived at Matthew's class and Francis kissed Matthew on the forehead before leaving. Matthew smiled softly and blushed a bit at the public display of affection and watched Francis enter his classroom, it not being too far from his.

"Holy shi—! What the…? Yao's performing in Beijing?" Alfred wailed, staring wide eyed at his laptop in front of him, seated on his bed cross legged. Matthew had come over after school, not having any homework for the night. Matthew looked up and approached the bed from the desk he was seated at and glanced around to get a look at the screen Alfred was gaping down at. There was a picture of Yao playing his violin up on stage along with a few other players and a huge crowd in front of him. "Dude, that's not fair…Hey Mattie, why can't we do the whole around the world stuff?"

Matthew huffed. "I'd prefer that we stay in America," he seated himself next to Alfred on the bed.

"Aww, come on, please~? We can go to Ottawa if you want to!" Alfred tried to bribe Matthew with going to the capital of Canada. He knew Matthew had always wanted to visit the city and was now using it against his half-brother.

"No," Matthew held his ground, crossing his arms and staring at Alfred in a determined way to get his point through. Alfred huffed and stared down at the screen to his laptop, taking in every single detail in the photo. The way Yao's pinky stuck up from his hold on the bow and that one hair that curled out from his pony tail, the lights in the background and that one guy in the audience that was holding a bottle of something in the air.

"Can we still go to London as like…a onetime thing?" Alfred asked, glancing up at Matthew from his laptop, giving his half-brother the best puppy-dog eyes he could. Matthew rolled his eyes and fell back on Alfred's bed, staring up at the ceiling that was covered in glow in the dark stars.

"You're hopes are a bit too big…" Matthew muttered.

Alfred huffed and returned his gaze to the article displayed on his laptop. "Jeez man, you're such a killjoy…"

Matthew extracted his phone from his pocket when it began ringing, checking the caller ID and smiling when he saw that it was Francis. He flipped it open and greeted his boyfriend who returned the greeting before continuing. "_Did you hear _mon amour,_ about Yao's performance in Beijing?"_

"Yeah, Alfred's getting ideas after seeing that," Matthew sighed, smiling fondly to himself.

_"Typical Alfred—oh! And those Ludwig and Gilbert guys just left for Berlin with a few other guys," _Francis announced and Matthew rose his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

"Really? Germany right? Wow, that's far away," Matthew answered, switching the cellular from one ear to the other to shift into a more comfortable position, having sat up when he took the phone out of his pocket. "Ugh, this generation's already gone worldwide," Matthew continued with a sigh that sounded almost annoyed. "I don't really think we're popular enough to follow the others though," he continued. He glanced at his half-brother who was clearly listening in on his conversation with great interest.

"_Are you kidding me? England's gone crazy for us with Arthur and all!"_ Francis answered, his voice an excited tone. Matthew leant back and supported his torso by placing one arm behind himself. He licked his lips and glanced up at the ceiling.

"…Do you think we can pull it off?" he then asked, his voice slightly nervous and despite his refusal earlier, Alfred could hear a hint of excitement in his half-brother's voice. He grinned triumphantly to himself and mentally thanked Francis for calling at just the right time.

Francis grinned and glanced down at an article posted on the internet just a day ago. There was Arthur on the corner of a street with his nice Union Jack guitar, doing a street performance. He was likely forced into doing it courtesy of his brothers who were probably hoping to get a bit of cash with how full the bucket was next to the guitar case. "Yeah, I think we can."

"_…Okay. Yeah, cool Francis. See you tomorrow?"_

_"Yeah, see you tomorrow,"_ and the two said their goodbyes before Matthew closed his phone and glanced at Alfred who was grinning at Matthew, his expression clearly reading 'I'd like to hear the good new now'. He rolled his eyes and sighed, falling back onto his back on the bed he was seated on.

"We must've had some crazy, impossible stroke of luck to get this famous this fast," Matthew muttered, staring up at the ceiling once more. He then sighed once more. "Yeah, I guess we do have a good chance at going worldwide Al."

"Hell yeah! Where would we go first?" Alfred piped excitedly, flopping onto his stomach next to Matthew. "I say we start in America and then leave off for Europe or something like that! Oh no wait, go to Canada after America," Alfred continued excitedly, poking Matthew in the arm as he talked.

"Yeah, Canada would be nice to go to after America, we could start in New York City and then go to Ottawa," Matthew answered, closing his eyes. He didn't really have a reason to argue anymore now that he knew they had the potential of doing something of that scale. "Maybe go to Vancouver first and then go to Spain or France."

"Yeah! Madrid, no, no! Barcelona, I've seen some pretty cool pictures of that place! And then we'd obviously go to Paris in France!"

"You're such a child…" Matthew sighed, opening his eyes to look at his American relative. Alfred simply grinned and gave Matthew a thumbs up, his expression enthusiastic.

"London's obviously on the list too!" he continued and Matthew rolled his eyes once more, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Where do you want to go in Europe? Oh, or how 'bout Asia? Tokyo's _definitely _on my list!" Alfred then asked, his questions coming obviously too fast.

"Liverpool maybe."

"…Where's that?" Alfred's question was so straightforward that Matthew couldn't help but snicker at his relative for his lack of knowledge.

"England you ditz," Matthew smiled, patting Alfred on the shoulder who pouted at the strange insult if it could be considered one. "Hamburg also sounds cool—that's in Germany," Matthew knew Alfred would giggle at the name of the city and did just as he had expected.

"Francis would probably choose a whole bunch of places in France," Alfred pointed out and Matthew rolled his eyes form the umpteenth time that afternoon. He wasn't sure if it would be the last time, or it he'd be doing it for the rest of the night. "Oh! And Seoul sounds amazing too! The pictures of that city at night are _so _cool! Sometimes I wish I could fly over them and look down at the lights because it's always so amazing looking and stuff," Alfred continued.

"South Korea? I didn't know you were interested in that country," Matthew pointed out, mildly surprised at the new bit of information.

"Whaat? What're you talking about Mattie? That place's like—mini Japan! So cool! Oh, what about Sydney Australia—the place with that weird building?"

"It's called the Sidney Opera House," Matthew pointed out.

"Rome Italy would be awesome too," Alfred grinned and Matthew smiled fondly at Alfred's not-so one tracked mindedness. The guy really wanted to see the whole world, Matthew could tell. "Come on, you name some—I really want to hear where you'd go if you could choose most of the places you wanted to go!"

"Fine," Matthew sighed before thinking about it a bit. "Puerto Vallarta in Mexico's pretty nice looking," Matthew then spoke up after a bit of thinking. "Oh hey, have you ever heard of Andorra?" Matthew then asked.

"What's that?"

"It's a really tiny country in between France and Spain—look it up, it's pretty small," Matthew answered, grinning at Alfred.

"Man, you're an atlas Mattie, might have to use you for my history class and things like that," Alfred grinned back at his half-brother. "So…you gonna call your mom and as about this?" Alfred asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

"Not now—I'll call her before summer vacation," Matthew answered and Alfred pouted loudly.

"Come on! That's such a long time from now! Man, sometimes I wish that school would just—gah! So annoying, it kills all of the fun!" Alfred complained, supporting himself up on his elbows. "Hmph…hey are we gonna tell Kiku about this?" Alfred asked. "Oh, and do you think Artie could come with us?"

"Yeah, as long as he says yes, he can come with us."

"Yes! Thanks Mattie, man I can't wait to do this man! I need to do something before I like, die from waiting!" Alfred began, jumping off of his bed and pacing around the room. Matthew simply watched his half-brother and pondered over whether he should suggest what was on his mind. "Mattie help me out here!"

"…I…I guess I could ask mom if we could go to London for winter bre—" Matthew couldn't finish when Alfred pulled him off of the bed and hugged him happily, twirling excitedly in happy circles.

"Thank you Mattie! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I don't know how many times would make it show you how thankful I am, but _thank you so much Mattie!"_ Alfred wailed.

"Okay, okay! As long as you don't suffocate me to death, I'll ask mom!" Matthew yelled over Alfred's voice.

"Okay!" he grinned and set Matthew down, the other straightening out his shirt which had rumpled horribly when Alfred had hugged him tightly and spun him in dizzying circles. "But thank you so much Mattie! I just—thank you!" Alfred piped happily, resisting the urge to hug Matthew again.

"Yeah, no problem I'll even call mom right now to make you happy," Matthew smiled, pulling out his phone and dialing his mother's phone number since she was currently at his house likely making dinner.

XXXX

** I've been to both Seoul and Puerto Vallarta and boy are they amazing places :D Seoul was just—oh God, I loved it so much. Andorra's a real place, look it up :D My friend told me about it one day and I was like—is that even a real place? So I looked it up and lo and behold, it's real and pretty tiny. I guess that explains why I've never heard of it :P**

** So, worldwide eh? Yeah, everyone's off in different countries right now, it's like—what about school? Hm, hm, okay, please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	25. Chapter 25

** Hey guys, I'm back :D And updating at my sister's since I'm visiting her. Didn't update yesterday because it was New Year's and went to a friend's to celebrate :D So much fun. Lol, I watched the fireworks that they set off in London for 2012 New Years and damn, that's some trippy shit. I really recommend that you watch it if you really like fireworks. It was so cool…I guess that's one reason why I'm moving to London. **

** Yeah, I do kinda plan on moving there once I finish college :D I'll be That Annoying American just so you know XD Just kidding. I want to move to England, but when I think about it, I really love America…So I'm having a mental war. But I definitely am moving if I can rake up enough cash for it :D Oh, and I'm still taking song suggestions just so you know :P As long as you can keep sending them in, do so. I'll tell you when I'm not taking them anymore, so don't worry 'bout it ;)**

** So yeah, other than my unnecessary ranting, enjoy~**

**XXXX**

_December 21_

_ Home_

_ Hell yeah! Mattie managed to convince his mom to let us go to England! I've been working on my spelling and grammer and got so much better with the help of Mattie! Artie's gonna be so proud! Or impressed…hopefully both! I haven't told him that we're coming yet and hopefully the tabloids don't leak too much. I'm super excited!_

_ So we're leaving pretty early tomorrow mourning. Hopefully I wake up early enough. Oh, the one thing I REALLY want to do is go on that big faris wheel, it's like, huge! Heared the lines are long though…I want to go at night too! Man, I can just see it! London at night with a nice view and Artie will be there too! I'm getting myself so excited I think I'm going to explode!_

_ That's all for now._

_ -Rather nicely detailed drawing of a Ferris wheel drawn on the remaining space of the page-_

Alfred closed his notebook, rather content with how nicely his writing turned out. His grammar and spelling had improved significantly ever since he got that new English teacher and the help of Matthew. He ended up hoping that he'd be able to make Arthur happy with his improved writing skills and couldn't wait to show the British guitarist that was his boyfriend.

He was currently supposed to be finishing up his packing with Matthew, but again, he had become sidetracked from the task, preferring writing in his journal over anything else—other than ravish Arthur. That sounded highly appealing at the moment.

"Yeah, I'm so excited Mattie! I get to spend Christmas _and_ New Years with Artie!" Alfred piped excitedly as he slid off of the edge of the bed and onto the floor next to Matthew who was packing up his suitcase. "Aren't you excited?" Alfred then questioned, poking his half-brother childishly in the arm.

"Hm. Yeah, sure," Matthew grunted, a bit irritated with how many times Alfred had to say the same thing over and over. Couldn't he tell that he had already drilled the information into Matthew and Francis's heads yet? Alfred grinned and clapped his Canadian half-brother on the shoulder, cheerfully agreeing with Matthew. Matthew glanced over to his French boyfriend who simply shrugged his shoulders, not exactly bent on lending a hand.

"Where do they celebrate New Year's anyways? I know that there's a big celebration in New York's Times Square," Francis then asked as he passed Matthew a tube of toothpaste.

"Trafalgar Square," Matthew answered. "We're going to go there for New Years," he then added, straightening out his back so he was in a proper sitting position. Alfred pumped a fist into the air and whooped excitedly. Francis and Matthew glanced once more at each other, but in a more fond way.

"Hey Mattie!" Alfred grinning, slinging an arm around Matthew's shoulder and pulling him closer. "What're we gonna do in London anyways? You never really tell me this stuff man!" he continued as Matthew pushed his half-brother off of him.

"Well, we're performing six times—twice in the Barbican, twice in Hyde Park and twice at the O2," Matthew answered as he zipped his suitcase shut. "We're playing at the O2 on New Year's, but it's ending just early enough for us to make it to Trafalgar Square for New Year's," Matthew continued as he stood up before plopping himself onto the edge of his bed. "We're kinda booked, but I think we'll be able to find some time for ourselves here and there."

"Cool, that's exactly what I wanted to hear," Alfred grinned, jumping up and plopping himself down next to Matthew. "Do you think I'll have enough time to like," Alfred began twiddling his thumbs a bit shyly. "Ya know—see Artie?"

Matthew smiled and placed a hand on his half-brother's shoulder. "Yeah, you'll have plenty of time I'm sure—we're spending eight days there and we're only performing six times plus a few photo shoots," Matthew nodded his head. "Oh, and a music magazine requested a photo of us with the Big Ben in the background," Matthew added.

"I don't know what O2 or the Barbican is…or the Big Ben…"

"It's that big clock tower you ditz!"

Matthew was currently reading his book while Kiku was staring out the window and Alfred and Francis were snoozing away in their seats. Heracles was also with them, sitting next to Kiku. They were on the plane to London and quite a bit of time remained until they finally landed only to go straight off to perform in Hyde Park three hours later. The park was probably set up for their arrival yesterday and finishing touches being added today.

The Canadian glanced at the photo of Gilbert, Ludwig, Antonio, Lovino and Feliciano posing for a camera, the Brandenburg Gate in the background. Matthew figured that this was the type of photo the music magazine was requesting from them. The article announced that the group of five was to go to Hamburg before leaving Germany and going straight to Italy to perform a few times. Apparently Antonio, Lovino and Feliciano's band name was _To the West_.

He turned the page and a smile stretches his lips. There was an old photo of Alfred and Arthur that he was quite fond of. The two were back to back on a raised platform and their wrists were bound together with a pair of handcuffs, hanging over the edge of said raised platform and their fingers were loosely intertwined. Alfred was wearing a baggy white T-shirt and rumpled blue jeans, Arthur's outfit mirroring Alfred's. Alfred's head was slightly turned so that he was staring blankly at the camera, looking rather smart with how his glasses were slightly slipping down the bridge of his nose.

Matthew felt like showing it to Alfred, but didn't feel like waking the American at the moment. So he read the article covering their plans to perform in London. He was about to turn the page when he was stopped from doing so. "Dude, I really love that picture!" Matthew turned to glance at Alfred who was a seat behind him, peeking in between the gape in the middle of Matthew's seat and Francis's seat. "Artie seemed so…weird about holding my hand for that one!" he continued in a snicker.

"Yeah, I sure do remember that rather clearly," Matthew smiled, looking down at the photo.

_ "Hey Artie! Dude, this next photo shoot's gonna be so cool! The idea is us like—back to back and stuff. They say we're gonna be handcuffed together too! 'Ey, how does that sound?" Alfred grinned. Matthew, Francis and Kiku watched the two as they drove to the location of the photo shoot._

_ "Quit giving me that look—you're reminding me of Francis," Arthur grunted, pushing Alfred off of his shoulder, the American having leant closer to Arthur. "And being stuck with you? Doesn't sound fun…"_

_ "Aww, come on Artie, you're so mean!" Alfred whined, heavily throwing himself onto Arthur's shoulder, the other grunting with the sudden weight that had been added to his right side. _

_ The eventually arrived at the location and entered the building. They were greeted and were eventually brought into a stark white room with a raised platform in the middle. Alfred and Arthur were cuffed together after stepping out of the changing rooms and Francis began muttering suggestive things into Matthew's ear, making the other turn a slight shade of red and beg for the other to be quiet. The only thing Matthew remembered from the things Francis had muttered in his ear was that it was about handcuffs and having some 'fun' later. Alfred sent them a look and grinned before sticking his tongue out at Francis, mouthing the words 'you wish' to the other. _

_ Alfred and Arthur seated themselves on the raised platform and scooted into a comfortable position. The photographers immediately started snapping photos and in the midst of it, Alfred eventually loosely intertwined his fingers with Arthur who slightly turned pink, adjusting his position and slightly tightened his grip on Alfred's hand briefly before relaxing his fingers. Matthew smiled and noticed how Arthur looked like he wanted to turn around and kiss his half-brother. _

_ Despite Arthur's complaints later on their way back to their hotel, Matthew could tell Arthur had a bit of fun during that photo shoot._

Kiku and Heracles watched the two half-siblings chat with each other, them being in the seats across the aisle that separated them. Kiku smiled fondly at his band mates and leaned his head on Heracles's shoulder hesitantly.

They eventually landed, poor Matthew having to deal with a bored Alfred while his French boyfriend was dead to the world, snoring loudly next to the Canadian. Matthew had to shake Francis awake when they landed, the loud sound of the tires loudly making contact with the runway unable to wake the guitarist.

Then they were immediately driven off to their hotel. Matthew helped Alfred settle in while Francis, Kiku and Heracles did so in their own, in their own hotel rooms. Once they were finished, Alfred excused himself to go off to find Arthur. He knew the Brit's address since he had mailed the CD to him personally after the other had stepped out of the tour business and went back home to London.

As he walked down the busy sidewalks of London, he got slightly strange looks, but wasn't bothered. He was happy he didn't have to throw on a hat and sunglasses just to walk around town now. He was finally left alone despite the 'do I know him?' look people kept sending him. It was less occasional as well since _The United Nations_ weren't as popular in England as they were in America.

It took him a bit of time to find the specific apartment building Arthur lived in with his large family—he had to ask around a bit, but eventually he found it. Alfred strolled in and took the stairs to the fourth floor. He then searched for the room that the Kirkland family lived in—lucky them the rooms this apartment building had were rather large according to Arthur.

Alfred grinned when he found the door he was looking for. Slightly nervously, he lifted his hand to knock on the door presented before him, stepping back a pace so the one that answered had room to open the door. Luckily, Arthur was the one who answered, just happening to be home alone. Grin widening to the point that it almost hurt, Alfred threw himself onto Arthur, wrapping his arms tightly around Arthur's torso, nuzzling his face into the Brit's hair.

Arthur had answered the door and had someone pull him into a tight hug. He was about to fight back, but was too shocked to do so and eventually, he was met with the smell of hamburger meat and leather. He wasn't sure where Alfred had begun to smell of leather, but he didn't mind. Arthur simply hugged Alfred back, burying his face in the crook of the others neck. The empty feeling he'd been having in his stomach and chest was suddenly gone and despite how cheesy that sounded, he was glad that he wasn't feeling that anymore.

"Hi Iggy."

"You could've greeted me a bit better," Arthur smiled. He wasn't sure why he and Alfred didn't talk over the phone, but he was glad that they didn't. Alfred's voice was like a privilege you weren't allowed often. The two separated, their stomachs still pressed together before Alfred leaned down to capture Arthur's lips in his own.

"Fine. Hello Arthur," Alfred smiled when they separated before leaning back down to kiss each other once more. "Would it be too cheesy for you if I said that I missed you?" he then asked once they separated once more.

"No, it's expected for us to miss the other git," Arthur answered, twirling a strand of Alfred's hair with his index finger. "So I missed you too," he continued, lifting himself slightly on the balls of his feet to kiss Alfred once more on the lips, sucking lightly on the others bottom lip.

Alfred's grin widened if it were possible and he leaned back from his boyfriend. "Kinda needy are we?"

"You're the one who started it," Arthur huffed, pressing the side of his face against Alfred's chest. "And why the hell did you come here? Matthew told me once you almost bought a ticket to England back when I moved away, before I went back to visit. Please don't tell me that you've done that," he continued, glancing up at Alfred without tilting his head back too much.

"No way," Alfred snorted. "Mattie totally convinced his mom to book us a few days here—we get to spend Christmas and New Year's together! Hey, does London like, shoot off fireworks for New Years?"

"Of course we do you git!" Arthur wailed, smacking Alfred playfully on the shoulder, pushing himself away from the American. "And might I add that they're rather impressive," he continued, placing his hands on his hips and tilting his chin up slightly so that he was staring Alfred in the eye.

"Impressive? It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to fireworks," Alfred grinned, pulling Arthur back into another embrace.

"Hm, that's nice to know. So, where are you performing?" Arthur asked, allowing himself to be hugged and kissed on the cheek. "Alfred, did you hear me?"

"Of course I did, I just didn't want to answer your question," Alfred shrugged his shoulders before leaning down to kiss Arthur again. "We're playing at…somewhere that starts with a 'B', Hyde Park and O2, twice each. We're playing in Hyde Park first in about two hours," Alfred answered, massaging the back of Arthur's head with his right hand. The guitarist hummed and closed his eyes, pressing his cheek against Alfred's chest.

Licking his lips nervously and feeling his cheeks warm up at the rather Francis-like idea that popped into his head, Alfred snuck a hand under Arthur's shirt. "Don't you have a concert in two hours?"

"We can knock a quick one no?"

"I guess we could."

Matthew glanced at the screen to his cellular. Alfred was late. Lucky them Matthew had told the other three hours instead of four so he'd come early, but apparently that hadn't worked. He was forty five minutes late. Alfred had missed rehearsal and it was fifteen minutes until show time.

With a sigh, Matthew turned to Francis with a helpless look on his face. "I don't think he'll make it, knowing him…" he announced to his French boyfriend. "I mean, when Al's late, he's super late…"

"Don't worry about it, he's also known for getting there just in the nick of time," Francis reassured in a rather carefree way.

"You could at least act a bit more concerned about our situation…" Matthew grunted, snapping his cellular shut along with pocketing it. "You're a bit too uh, careless about it for my liking," Matthew continued. Francis simply grinned and pulled Matthew closer to his side, pressing a kiss to the Canadian's cheek.

"Oh well."

"What do you mean 'oh well'?" Matthew asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Just 'oh well'," Francis answered. Apparently the French teen wasn't bent on being worried at the moment. Kiku was currently worrying for him if that were the case.

"I hope Alfred's okay," Kiku muttered, seating himself next to Matthew, clasping his hands together in his lap. Matthew sighed and nodded his head in agreement.

Ten more minutes passed and they were making final touches along with preparing themselves with announcing that the concert will be postponed for an unknown amount of time. Luckily for Matthew, who was given the task, Alfred arrived, breathless and looking like he had just crawled on his hands and knees through hurricane Katrina. "Dudes, the hero's here! No need to worry!" he laughed loudly, albeit nervously.

"And an hour late…" Matthew sighed, though it was more out of relief than irritation. "You look like a mess and is that a hickey?"

"Shut up, you did not see that!" Alfred wailed, tugging the collar of his shirt higher up his neck.

"You're hair's a mess too."

"You're being difficult Mattie!" Alfred whined as he attempted to straighten out his hair. "Okay fine, I kinda got busy and…stuff happened…" Francis snorted, holding back his 'I told you so' laughter and Alfred whipped his head to glare at the French teen. "Shut up!"

"I'm afraid that I cannot," Francis grinned, rubbing his bottom lip with his knuckles, still holding back his laughter. "So, where is our dear Arthur anyways?"

"Dude totally got knocked out…" Alfred muttered, leaning closer to Francis so Matthew or Kiku couldn't hear their conversation. Francis snorted once more. "What the hell is up with you and that sound?"

"What? I'm just trying not to laugh at you—how many did you manage to get out of him?"

"Shut up," Alfred grunted, smacking Francis roughly upside his head. The guitarist simply grinned broadly at the American before restating his question. "Why the hell do you want to know?"

"Oh, just making sure…"

"Like hell you are," Alfred huffed, leaning back in his seat, closing his eyes. "Man, I missed rehearsal didn't I? Damn it…"

"Yes, in fact you did miss rehearsal," Francis answered matter-of-factly. "I'm sure you and Arthur had enough fun though."

"We did it three times—there you happy? Now quit being such a—a Francis," Alfred hissed, turning red at the confession. Francis simply grinned and leaned back in his seat in a content manner. "Oh man, I'm going to mess this concert up so bad…" Alfred then groaned, placing his head in both hands which were propped up by the elbows on his knees.

"Oh hush Alfred," Matthew announced his presence, Alfred having briefly forgotten that his half-brother was there. "We'll do fine," he continued in reassurance. "Don't be such a pessimist."

"I'm not being a pessimist…"

"I don't care if you are or aren't, now come on guys, we have to get a concert to perform," Matthew stood up.

"Okay fine," Alfred sighed, standing up as well along with Francis and Kiku. "For once, I can't wait for a concert to be done already…"

XXXX

**Total epic failure here…God, this one reeks of stinkage. Lol, that's something ThousandYearFlyer00 came up with one day when they were super mad at a game they were playing. So yeah, this chapter's kind of fillerish as well eh? Oh well, things will pick up again pretty soon. So please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :D**


	26. Chapter 26

** I'm back~! 'N' I'm watching Hetalia: Axis Powers season one on DVD. I feel so happy right now…but health's really plummeting on me. I'm not sure, but I think I've picked the flu back up—a small scale one though. Just feeling like my head will implode at any moment and I can't eat…I'm hungry right now, but food makes me nauseated…Oh no, I better not be dying D8 Enjoy~**

**XXXX**

Today was one of their free days. Alfred was happy about that since they didn't get much down time on their tour across America. The five were currently at the hotel, Kiku and Heracles in their room while Francis, Alfred and Matthew were sitting in Matthew and Francis's shared room. Currently, they were bored out of their minds.

"Ugh…I'm bored," Alfred sighed, falling onto his back on the mattress he was seated in, staring up at the ceiling. "Wish we had something to do right now…" he continued, rolling onto his stomach. "We should have a water fight or something."

"That would be epic," Francis grinned before being swat in the arm by Matthew.

"No, it would be an absolute mess," Matthew grunted.

"Dude, you sound like Iggy!" Alfred grinned, poking Matthew in the head from his spot on the bed, Matthew sitting on the floor, back propped up against the bed. "He'd totally agree with you or something," he continued, hanging half of his torso over the edge of the mattress, hands pressed into the carpeted floor to keep himself propped up.

"Why not invite him over so we can all, you know? Hang out?" Francis suggested. Alfred grinned enthusiastically at the French guitarist, though his cheeks went a bit red.

"Dude, that's an awesome idea!"

"And how about you go get him?" Francis continued and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Leave Alfred alone Francis," he muttered.

"Oh! Oh! And guys, can we go on that big Farris wheel? Ya know, that one that's uh…there?" Alfred asked, obviously stumped on the name of the London Eye. "…But still, can we go? It'll be awesome and I've always wanted to go on it!" Alfred continued, grinning brightly at his two band mates.

"It's called the London Eye Alfred," Matthew supplied with an almost bored sigh. "You should really look these things up or something," he continued, turning his head so he could look at his half-brother who was hanging over the edge of the bed.

"Dude, how do you know about all of this stuff?"

"I'm a fucking atlas…" Matthew muttered as he turned around and began searching for something under the bed for Alfred seemed about ready to leave the room.

"What're you looking for Mattie?" the American asked, only to have a black umbrella thrown at him. He caught it with ease and grinned. "Gonna storm today?"

"If you look at the clouds outside, it looks that way," Matthew answered, glancing out the window at the grey clouds hanging above the city of London. "It's kinda rainy here, so I'm not surprised—especially with it being winter and all," he continued as he stood up and plopped himself down onto the bed.

Alfred thanked his half-brother and left the hotel room with haste, forgetting to close the door on his way out. Francis grinned and stood up as well before tossing himself on the bed alongside Matthew, wrapping an arm around the other's torso once he was settled. "So while they're gone, wanna just 'hang out'?"

Alfred strolled down the streets, it already having started to sprinkle a bit. He now knew his way to Arthur's apartment, having a good memory with directions. Nobody really knew that tidbit, but it wasn't something important anyone had to know now was it?

He popped the umbrella open and positioned it so it was above his head, the rain having picked up significantly in the span of two minutes. It never really was rainy in the city he lived in in California, being a bit down south in the state. This seemed like a lot of precipitation as well and within enough time, he couldn't really hear the cars that were driving by with how heavy the downpour had become. It made Alfred wonder if this was normal or one of those not-so-occasional happenings.

Eventually Alfred arrived at the building and hurried in, shaking off the umbrella before closing it and tucking the item under his armpit as he scaled a set of stairs. Going up the proper amount of flights, Alfred turned and was soon presented with the door to the apartment room Arthur lived in, been here not even twelve hours ago.

With a large grin, he knocked on the door loudly—probably a bit too loudly, but one never knew. The guitarist and his boyfriend, opened the door with a moody grunt, staring in a rather unimpressed way at the American standing at his door.

"Dude, did your family like, abandon you or something? They're never home…" Alfred's grin widened as he peeked a bit further into the room, finding that nobody was currently present at the moment.

Arthur muttered about something briefly before speaking up. "Why're you back so early?"

"Aww, are you not happy to see me?" Alfred mock pouted, his grin turning into a toothy smile as Arthur continued to stare at him.

"Sore you git. Awfully sore…" Arthur replied and Alfred snorted, covering his mouth so he couldn't laugh any more with the crabby look he was receiving. "And why is that funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Alfred grinned, removing his hand. "Francis suggested that you come over so we can all hang out, ya know? Like, update each other about what's going on and stuff?" he continued. Arthur glanced off to the side, visibly pondering over his options. Either go or don't go. Seeing Matthew and Kiku sounded nice, but Francis on the other hand was kind of a pain no matter how much time you spent away from him. Probably not in Matthew's eyes, but in Arthur's hell yes.

"Sure, I guess I'll go," Arthur finally answered and Alfred whooped and grabbed Arthur's wrist before dragging the guitarist out of the doorway and down the hall, Arthur having grabbed the doorknob just in time to shut the door. The room wasn't locked though, but oh well. "Ow! Slow down Alfred!"

"Whoops! Sorry Iggy~!" Alfred grinned, stopping and having Arthur bump into his side. "Totally got too excited there."

"Obviously," Arthur muttered as he rubbed his hip. Obviously that wasn't where it hurt, but Arthur wasn't going to rub his rear in front of Alfred. A whole plethora of things could happen. Before he knew it, Alfred was bent over in front of him, glancing over his shoulder happily. "What are you doing?"

"Haven't you ever heard of a piggy-back?" Alfred asked, craning his head further so he could see over his shoulder.

"I'll be fine."

"But we're walking all the way there, I didn't take a bus or something," Alfred reasoned. "And I'm not taking one back 'cause I've got no cash on me," he continued and Arthur huffed in irritation.

"Can't you think ahead of time?" Arthur questioned and it was Alfred's turn to huff, though not out of irritation.

"C'mon man, it's just a piggy-back, not going to kill you," Alfred shrugged and Arthur, after a bit of silence, reluctantly allowed for himself to be carried. "Oh, and can you hold the umbrella?"

"Fine," and he was handed the umbrella. "How're we going to hold the umbrella like this?"

"We're not gonna!" Alfred grinned and Arthur furrowed his eyebrows and was about to say something when Alfred hiked him further up his back to readjust their position into a more comfortable one.

"Ow! Be more careful when you do that!" Arthur yelped, swatting Alfred on the head rather harshly.

"Ow! And you have to be less physical!" Alfred retorted, though he was grinning despite it all. He stepped outside and the two were immediately soaked with how much rain was now coming down. Arthur immediately began complaining about being drenched, purposely adjusting his hold on the umbrella so that it was poking into the American's inner thigh. "Artie you such a cry baby! So then, where does it hu—OW! Wha—ouch, what the hell are you doing?" Alfred then wailed loudly. Arthur removed his mouth from Alfred's neck, having just bitten him rather harshly.

"Can't you see that I'm trying to kill you by sucking all of your blood out?" Arthur questioned.

"Dude! Vampires are overrated!"

"_You're_ overrated!" Arthur's voice cracked when he said 'you're'. Alfred, despite the pain in his neck, grinned and hiked Arthur up his back once more, the other yelping in pain. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Payback."

Matthew and Francis separated when they heard Alfred and Arthur's voices, which were rather loud at the moment. Francis huffed irritably at the two blond's timing. "Great, they're back…"

"Oh hush."

"Mattie, can you open the door for me?" Alfred asked from the other side. Matthew blinked, a bit confused as to why Alfred required his assistance before kissing Francis on the lips one more time before swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress and walked over to the door to open it and have his question answered.

There stood Alfred with a grumpy looking Arthur at the doorway. The two were soaking wet, probably enough to get sick, Matthew would have to check up on them every now and then. Alfred had a…very lightly bleeding bite mark on his neck and his hair was messed up even more than it normally was. Oh, and Alfred was apparently giving Arthur a piggy-back to top it off.

Francis snorted in the background, still lying on the bed behind Matthew. Alfred then grinned widely despite the display. "Do not fear, the hero has tamed this demon!"

"I am not a demon!" Arthur barked, swatting Alfred on the head. That was probably why Alfred's hair was so disheveled. Matthew remained silent as the two argued with each other.

"Uh…can we have a recap…?" Matthew asked.

"He bit me!"

"He asked me _where it hurt!"_

"I was just worryin' 'bout ya!"

"Like hell you were! What are _you _laughing about?" Arthur snapped, aiming his glare at Francis who was snickering on the bed.

"This is just too funny," Francis grinned, sitting up from his position on the bed.

"I see nothing funny in this! C'mon, you and me right now!" Arthur growled, wiggling out of Alfred's grasp, falling onto his rear on the ground, making him yelp in pain. He toughed it out though and tackled Francis off of the bed. The two ended up falling off the other side and wrestling on the ground in between the two beds that sat in the hotel room.

Alfred and Matthew glanced at each other as if asking with their eyes 'how did we fall in love with these guys again?' before glancing back at the two, Arthur yelling angrily at Francis who was laughing hysterically.

They managed to calm the two down and were now sitting on the two beds, Matthew and Francis on one and Alfred and Arthur on the other. "Hey dude, you wanna come to our concert at the O2 tomorrow? It'll be pretty awesome! Oh and can you take us to the big Ferris wheel tonight? That'll be awesome too!" Alfred asked, shaking Arthur lightly.

"You have a concert tomorrow? But tomorrow's Christmas day…" Arthur furrowed his eyebrows a bit at the revelation. "You'd think that you wouldn't have to do anything on Christmas…"

"But I have no problem with it! I'm doing what I love! So you wanna come? I could like, give you front row seat!"

"Personally I'd prefer the balcony, but giving how big that place is…sure, I'll go."

"Say Mattie, what does the O2 look like anyways?" Alfred asked, falling back on the mattress. "Could you like, pull up a website or something for me?" he continued.

"Oh, I know you'll love it Matthew—bigger than any auditorium we've been in," Matthew grinned, shaking his head. "You'll just…I don't know, all I can say is that you'll love it," his grin never fell as he pulled his laptop out of its case from his suitcase.

"Dude, hurry up and pull it up, I wanna see!" Alfred jumped off of the bed and leaped onto the one Francis and Matthew were seated on. Francis grunted in irritation and rolled away from the American in distaste, sitting up once he was pressed against the headboard.

"There's some pictures of it."

"Whoa! Dude~!" Alfred grinned, pulling the laptop from Matthew's lap. "That's—that's _huge!_"

"Calm down Al, our crowd probably won't be that big," Matthew shook his head, pulling his laptop out of Alfred's lap much like Alfred had done.

"No way! We're huge! I think we could get that many people!" Alfred grinned. "Can I check more of this website out?" he continued, tugging at Matthew's laptop once more. Matthew reluctantly let Alfred take the laptop.

Francis scooted closer, mildly interested in what Alfred was looking at. Soon enough, the two were basically drooling over the keyboard to Matthew's laptop while the Canadian and the British guitarist rolled their eyes, though Matthew was worried about the keyboard of his laptop. "Oh! Artie, the Ferris wheel—you gonna take us?" Alfred grinned at the Brit.

"The London Eye Alfred, remember that," Matthew informed as he tried to salvage his laptop from his lover and his half-brother. "Jeez Alfred, you have to like, learn about this stuff and all," Matthew continued.

"Ugh, sure I guess I could take you tonight," Arthur sighed. "Lines are long though."

"Yeah I figured," Alfred rolled his eyes. "But still, the wait's worth it isn't it?" he continued, letting go of the laptop and jumping over to the bed Arthur was seated on, wrapping an arm around Arthur's shoulders and pulling him closer. "Please?"

"Yeah I guess I will," Arthur sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "We probably won't be left alone bu—hmph!" Arthur was cut off when Alfred kissed him on the lips. The Brit side glanced at Matthew and Francis, his cheeks heating up quickly as Matthew smiled fondly and Francis grinned slyly. When they separated, Alfred grinned widely and pulled Arthur into an enthusiastic hug.

"Artie~!"

"Is all of this from the blood loss?" Arthur asked, trying to push himself away from the American. Obviously Alfred hadn't lost that much blood, but with how the American was acting at the current moment, he really doubted that.

"I dunno, but right now my heart just feels like it's gonna explode!" Alfred's grin didn't falter and he hugged Arthur tighter. "I just love you so much!"

"Alfred, Matthew and Francis are still here!" Arthur's face turned a dark shade of red when he heard Francis 'aww'. "Alfred…"

"What~?" Alfred whined, nuzzling his head into Arthur's hair. Arthur decided that he didn't need to say anything and simply snuggled further into Alfred's embrace. "So…can you take us to the London Eye tonight?"

"Sure, sure whatever…"

XXXX

** Holy shit. Okay, I just looked up the O2 just so I could get a look at it and it's like…good God. That's another reason I'm moving to London. It looks phenomenal. (www . theo2 . co . uk / index . php then go to 'Inside the O2' –on the left- and then right below that click 'The O2 Arena') Go there nao o_o Lol, I should like, write a small story where America finds out about all of this (since he's just the kind of guy to be uninformed).**

** I plan on covering the O2 concert since it's on Christmas :D So bleh. Apparently I can stomach mashed potatoes. That makes me happy :) So yup. Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**

**Lol, I just realized that I had them play at the O2 on Christmas and New Year's eve XD**


	27. Chapter 27

** Yaay, I'm feeling quite a bit better than I was a few days ago :) That makes me happy. Alright, time to get this chapter started. We're almost to the end of this horribly slow lane, so don't worry –w-; It's almost over…Enjoy~!**

**XXXX**

Arthur watched from his spot atop a rather large amplifier as Alfred danced and sung to his iPod, twirling with the microphone stand. It was currently Christmas day and once this concert was over, they were planning on heading back to the hotel and hang out with each other some more. The United Nations without Arthur seemed to function a bit differently from what Arthur observed. Kiku and Matthew ended up being the ones to nag Alfred and Francis into getting rehearsal started, though it was more Matthew than Kiku.

Francis approached the amplifier Arthur was sitting on and plugged his guitar in, the Brit sending Francis a glare when the French teen grinned suggestively at him. Once he finished up making sure his strings were correctly tuned, Francis began, what most would call, 'shredding', on his guitar, the loud strums echoing in the currently empty arena.

Arthur slid off of the amplifier, it being too loud and the vibrations from the machine making sitting there very uncomfortable. "_Mon ami_, do you think you could beat something like that?" Francis grinned once he finished, placing his fingers on the correct frets so he could loudly strike a G chord.

"I'm sure I could," Arthur rolled his eyes while Matthew winced as Francis continued to strum a few more chords.

"Francis, could you turn it down for now? Save it for the concert," Matthew asked. Francis pouted before grinning at Arthur.

"Arthur, could you be a dear and turn down the volume for Matthew?" he asked, voice so sweet it kind of made Arthur want to gag. He simply huffed though and walked back over to the amplifier he had just jumped off of. He turned the dial to what seemed like a reasonable volume in an empty arena before glancing back at Francis, wordlessly telling him to test the volume out.

"So now that I'm not a part of your band, I become your servant?"

"What?" Alfred pulled an ear bud out of one of his ears, setting the microphone stand back on the ground properly. "No way Artie, you're still a part of _The United Nations_!" Alfred continued, throwing an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "Oh, dude, we made like, two news songs for this concert and one of 'em is called 'American Christmas'! Eh? Wha'ddya think?" he then continued with a toothy grin, shaking the Brit a tad to get his boyfriend's opinion. Arthur simply rolled his eyes and Alfred pouted.

Arthur caught the bottle of water Francis had thrown at him, sending the wavy haired blond a confused look. "Do whatever you want with it," Francis grinned and Arthur rolled his eyes once more before halfheartedly thanking the French teen. He uncapped it, took a long swig and dumped the rest on top of Alfred's head, the other jumping to attention with loud, childish whines.

Matthew sighed as he watched the three goof off. Seriously, they weren't doing what they were here to do. So he decided to start a drum beat on a whim. "C'mon guys, we gotta get this rehearsal done," Matthew announced. Francis stopped snickering and agreed with the Canadian, fixing the position his guitar was in before adding a catchy riff to Matthew's drum beats.

"Five minutes before show time, gotta hurry," Arthur muttered to himself as he pulled the key to his apartment out of his pocket and shoved it into the keyhole. "Damn, should've remembered to bring it with me…" he continued to talk with himself as he shoved the door open and hurried into his room, searching the small space for something.

"Hey Arthur! There you are! How come you're never home? Christmas is supposed to be when families are together!" a childish voice accused. Arthur groaned and looked over his shoulder at his annoying younger brother Peter. He simply uttered something under his breath before letting out a small 'ah-hah' when he found what he was looking for. Stuffing the object into his pocket, Arthur stood back up and left his room.

"Sorry Pete, gotta fly," Arthur pat his younger sibling atop his head and left. Peter huffed at how rushed Arthur seemed and followed after his older brother. What could possibly be more important than him on this wonderful Christmas day? Arthur used to always be his best friend, but lately he's been distracted by things ever since he got back from America. Peter didn't understand that Arthur was now super famous though.

His slightly bushy eyebrows rose in interest and slight surprise when Arthur continued in the direction of the O2 dome. That place was huge and expensive he bet! How did Arthur have access to tickets and stuff like that. "Why're you going there?"

"Gah!" Arthur spun around, a bit surprised that his younger sibling had followed him all the way to the O2, though he probably shouldn't with how much of a trouble maker he was. "God Peter why'd you have to follow me?"

"Well why aren't you back home? Scottie says he misses you…"

"Don't listen to that wanker, he's a liar," Arthur grunted and Peter let out a loud 'hey!' after that, eyebrows furrowing.

"That's not nice Arthur! Scott's really cool—cooler than you!"

"Wha—? Oh whatever," Arthur waved his hand, having not told Peter about his summer yet. "Just—do you like loud music?"

"Of course I do! Unlike _someone_ I know!" Peter grinned, placing his hands on his hips in a strangely proud way.

"Yeah, Scott," Arthur muttered and grabbed ahold of Peter's wrist, leading his younger sibling inside of the building.

"Nuh-uh! It's you who doesn't like loud music, not Scott!" Peter retorted as Arthur demanded that he quiet down as they walked around the place. After a bit of observing, Peter noticed that they had passed a few doors that let you into the arena—he could hear so many people already in there! "Arthur, where are we going? The place where the seats are is that way," Peter pointed out, tugging on Arthur's sleeve. The older of the two simply told him to be quiet once more and continued on.

Before Peter knew it, he was backstage, face to fave with that awesome guitarist Francis! Francis cocked an eyebrow at the new face and pulled his guitar over his head, setting it on a stand carefully before standing up and approaching Arthur and Peter. "And who is this?"

"I'm Peter Kirkland!" Peter grinned, jabbing a thumb into his chest.

"Err, he's my younger brother," Arthur itched at the back of his head. "Followed me here."

"Dude! How'd you get ahold of backstage passes?" Peter piped excitedly, glancing up at Arthur in an admiring way. "You gotta tell me! Is this like—my Christmas present or something? _The United Nations_ are so awesome! A friend showed me a couple of songs just a week ago and I was like—whoa!" he continued excitedly and Arthur hummed. Shit, he'd forgotten to get a Christmas present for Peter…

"Uh…I'm a part of _The United Nations,"_ Arthur pointed out.

"What? No way! You liar!" Peter stuck his tongue out. Alfred approached the trio, a grin plastered to his face.

"Artie, who's this?" he asked, motioning to Peter.

"I'm—!"

"He's my younger brother Peter," Arthur sighed and Peter swat him in the arm lightly for interrupting him.

"Well Peter," Alfred started. "Artie here actually is a member of the UN, dude's totally an awesome guitar player—better than Francis!" Francis sent him a betrayed look, though it was more on the lighthearted side than anything else. "Remember when he went over to America for the summer, well we just happened to get famous right as he arrived!"

"Dude, you're better than Francis?" Peter asked, eyes wide. "No way! Francis is like—as good as that Ludwig guy!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone there," Francis cut in, shaking his head. "Ludwig's actually way out of my league," he continued. "Even I can admit that."

"Shut up, you're just saying that because you want to seem like a good guy in front of a kid," Arthur grunted.

"Dude, how come you never told me~?" Peter whined, tugging at Arthur's sleeve.

"Well, you never asked about my summer and I didn't feel the need to tell you," Arthur shrugged his shoulders. Alfred simply told Peter not to worry about Arthur since the guy was actually a cranky old man at heart. He ended up getting smacked upside the head, though he ended up laughing on the ground despite the physical abuse, going on about how Arthur should stop assaulting him. "Now come Peter, better go get those front seats Alfred reserved."

"Awesome~!"

Alfred, Francis, Matthew and Kiku strolled on stage, grinning at how large their crowd was. "Holy shit Mattie, I told you we had the stuff!" he grinned towards his half-brother who muttered to himself, Alfred obviously unable to hear what he said with how loud the crowd was. He glanced down at Arthur and Peter and winked at the earlier who rolled his eyes. Matthew didn't head for his drum set though, while Francis set his guitar on the stand near the amplifier, heading over to where Alfred was, two microphones waiting for the two. "Good luck guys," Alfred pat Matthew on the shoulder who grinned and thanked his relative.

Their first song was Blanche Neige, a song that was completely in French and sung by both Matthew and Francis, much like Bonjour, it just had more of a Christmas feel to it. The only instrument played as well was the keyboard Kiku was stationed at. There was a solo for Kiku in it too that Alfred was rather fond of. He sat off to the sidelines for this song and would wave to Arthur every now and then, sending the other a charming grin only to receive a 'you're ridiculous' look from Arthur.

They followed up with My Christmas List, Alfred going back to being lead on vocals. Francis, as usual, was his back up (he felt like that would be something he'd say often), Matthew was doing his job and Kiku was also backup. Francis opened the song, nodding at Alfred a beat before the American would come in. Arthur listened to the lyrics and immediately concluded that the song sounded so much like Alfred. Get him things he doesn't need and he'll want more anyways. Alfred wouldn't stop grinning at him for some reason too.

The next song after that was American Christmas, the one that Alfred had already told Arthur about. This time it was Matthew who opened the song before Francis jumped in and Alfred after him. Kiku's keyboard had been set so that the keys sounded like bells instead of a piano. The lyrics were similar to My Christmas List briefly, though it soon changed so that it spoke about how to celebrate the holiday in a way Alfred would—party hard and just have fun.

Merry Frickin' Christmas followed after that and Alfred and Matthew seemed to have quite a bit of fun with the end of the chorus, the lyrics being '_Shoot me now, I'm sick of all my relatives (Relatives!)'_. Alfred would sing the line and then Matthew would echo his half-brother into a microphone, Alfred turning over his shoulder to grin at Matthew. Alfred liked bouncing around to this song as well—it had a good amount of energy in it and that's the way he liked it.

They normally played four songs, but Francis started up DC and London, the chords starting out slow, before eventually blending together for the opening of the song. Alfred approached the front of the stage and stuck a hand out so Arthur could grab it. They had agreed on playing DC and London mostly because it was a huge hit in America and hoped that bringing it to other countries would make it even more popular.

"W-what?" Arthur yelled over the crowd as Matthew started beating at the drums, tossing both drumsticks high into the air at a break before continuing.

"DC and London, can't do it without ya!" Alfred grinned, taking Arthur's hand and dragging him up stage. "Did the people standing around you even notice that you were _the_ Arthur Kirkland?" he continued, grin only widening.

"Alfred, I'm completely unprepared!"

"That's the point!" Alfred grinned before he began to sing his part, handing Arthur a microphone. Luckily for Arthur, Alfred's part came first—he'd sing the first verse, they'd both sing the chorus and Arthur would sing the second verse before they split the bridge in two, taking turns. Arthur at first thought that he was going to start panicking, but he then remembered that he used to do this almost daily on the tour and that he should be expecting things like this from Alfred. He glanced over at Peter who looked ecstatic and sighed just as the chorus came up.

As they went through the chorus and Arthur eventually had to dig up the lyrics of the song from his memory (mentally dusting them off too) and began singing with Alfred. By the time the chorus came around the second time, Arthur began to realize how much he missed performing with Alfred. Yao did a really good job with helping Alfred compose this song.

He assumed that singing and looking at each other was cheesy, but it didn't bother Arthur at the moment when they ended the song, holding out the last word for a few beats before Matthew concluded the song. The crowd cheered, the two leaned forward and almost kissed when Francis popped up in between the two, throwing each of his arms around their shoulders. "Ah, wonderful job _mes amis!_ That was amazing!"

Arthur was about to yell at Francis for interrupting, but then realized that he had almost kissed Alfred in front of a _huge_ crowd. He held his tongue and turned a dark shade of red as Francis let the two go and Alfred swung his own arm around Arthur's shoulder. "Aww, thanks dude! We've never really performed this song publically haven't we?" Alfred grinned excitedly, turning to look at the crowd and waving a hand, flashing a charming smile at them. "At least Artie actually sang, that would've sucked if he stepped out!"

"I would've never stepped out Alfred," Arthur huffed, leaning into Alfred's side.

Alfred grinned. "Thanks a bunch man!" he hugged Arthur closer. "Man, that was so much fun! The look on your face when I dragged you up here was priceless!" Alfred laughed loudly, Matthew approaching the three with four bottles of water, Kiku also approaching them with his own. "Thanks Mattie."

"No problem. Good job Arthur, I was kinda worried about you forgetting the lyrics, but Alfred insisted," Matthew smiled as Arthur took the bottle of water from Matthew, thanking him as he did so. "So, we're going to clean up and head straight back to the hotel?"

"Yup, that's what we plan on doing," Alfred nodded his head.

Alfred grinned once they entered their hotel room. After the chaos of shaking Peter off of their responsibility radar, they headed straight for the hotel and split into their separate rooms, Francis and Matthew heading for theirs, Kiku and Heracles heading for their and Alfred along with Arthur in Alfred's. "Okay dude, totally took me a while to find something for you, but I sure did find it!" Alfred grinned, bounding over to his suitcase. Arthur watched Alfred rummage through his things, mildly interested as he stuffed his hand into his pocket and tinkered a bit with the object inside. "Ta-da!"

Alfred held a simple necklace. It had a thin chain and the pendant was in the shape of a heart with the American and British flags inside. He handed it to Arthur who was impressed at how expensive it looked even if it was Alfred they were talking about. "Turn it around!" Alfred piped excitedly and Arthur turned the pendant so that the back of it was revealed. He smiled when he saw two 'A's intertwined within each other. There were also a smaller 'K' and 'J' intertwined with the 'A's. "Ha, ha, when I first saw that I was like 'All you need to do is switch the K and the J and it'd be 'just kidding''," Alfred grinned.

"I can see," Arthur muttered. He smiled at the simplicity of Alfred's gift. "Thanks—tabloids will go crazy if they see this."

"Yeah, I know right?" Alfred's grin widened as Arthur handed Alfred the necklace so he could put it around Arthur's neck. As he did so, Arthur stuck his hand back into his pocket and pulled his gift out.

"Sorry if mine doesn't look as expensive as yours…" he apologized as he handed Alfred the necklace he'd been holding onto ever since Matthew got hit by that car. Alfred grinned and took it from Arthur, examining the necklace. It stayed true to his name, it was a black lace, not a chain, that held a pendant with the American and British flags crossed like swords. Arthur smiled. "I've had that ever since Matthew got hit by that car. Intended to give it to you on your birthday, but things were complicated then."

"Hah, tell me about it," Alfred chuckled as he easily fit the lace over his head and onto his neck. "Awesome, don't even have to un buckle it or whatever you call it," he continued, glancing down at the pendant that now rested on his chest. "Hey, do you wonder what Frenchie got Mattie?"

"Probably some more sex," Arthur smiled and Alfred snorted back laughter.

"Ha, ha, so true—I was gonna say some sex toy, but that works too," he grinned, hugging Arthur who laughed gently to himself.

"That really does sound like Francis, I dare you to ask Matthew what Francis got him for Christmas," Arthur grinned, glancing up at Alfred.

"Aw, come on. I already know those two are having sex," Alfred started matter-of-factly. "But just because Matthew has Francis doesn't mean that they can be the only ones to have some fun you know," he continued, his tone never changing. "And hey, why didn't you kiss me after that song? That would've been epic!"

"No way! Do you know how many people were in there Alfred?" Arthur squawked. "Even with the tabloids watching us like hawks, I'd prefer to keep as much privacy when it comes to our relationship as possible," Arthur continued and Alfred grinned.

"Well then, if you stay quiet then maybe you'll be able to keep a bit more from the tabloids," Alfred slyly pushed Arthur onto the single bed, the latter rolling his eyes.

"God, why do you always have to sound like Francis at the worst of times?"

"Wha'ddya mean?" Alfred asked, cocking his head to the side, feigning innocence even though he clearly knew what Arthur meant. "I'm me," he continued childishly, patting his chest with an open palm. Arthur rolled his eyes once more.

"Well, first thing's first, don't pull me upstage like that ever again," Arthur huffed.

"Are you still cranky about that? C'mon Artie, you're no fun! Nobody expected it, that's why it was so interesting!" Alfred whined and Arthur huffed once more.

"Then don't do that again."

"I can't promise that~" Alfred sing-songed, ticking a finger back and forth, grinning cheerfully down at his boyfriend. "Now why are we talking again? Dude, we gotta get to it before Frenchie and Mattie finish and come knocking on our door."

"That'd suck," Arthur grunted and Alfred laughed.

"Totally, Francis would never let us live that down if it happens." Alfred winked.

"Okay, so you're telling me to stop talking, yet you go on and on?" Arthur accused, smiling nonetheless. His back was currently against the mattress, arms folded over his chest. Alfred hummed and looked up at the ceiling in fake thoughtfulness.

"Can you wait?" he grinned, looking back down at the shaggy haired blond beneath him.

"It's either now or never," Arthur answered and Alfred leaned down to kiss him.

"Thanks for the necklace Artie," he said when they separated. Arthur hummed in response before being kissed again by the American who was currently straddling him. "You're like, the coolest guy on earth."

"No more talking Al."

**XXXX**

**My Christmas List by Simple Plan**

**Merry Frickin' Christmas by Frickin' A**

**Mes amis – My friends**

**Man, I'm wiped out. Started this about around lunchtime and finished this about midnight. I did leave for a friend's house though at six. Played Xbox (which I don't have) and played Halo Reach (for the first time) along with a game called Blur (I think that's what it was called. Lol, I don't even know what we were doing in Halo, but I really enjoyed being a wall or a huge-ass grid. The grid especially was super fun XD Came back around eleven at night too so yeah—five consecutive hours of Xbox and I could play more…went to a different friend's yesterday and played Xbox there too. We played a racing game and another that is so freaking epic 'cause the main thing you do in it is just crash into shit. My favorite is the Show Time part where the car unrealistically starts barrel rolling down the highway. God, I don't even know why it was so funny, but I just laughed and laughed as that went on…So yeah—other than my ranting that you don't even have to know about, please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	28. Chapter 28

**One question, why the hell would you have the air conditioning on in the winter in a state that borders Canada? O_O My school does that and it's like…just very, very frustrating. Man, I'm tired…ever since school started, I've been getting my lack of sleep problem again—I tend to not get enough sleep and it really sucks…Alright, that's it for my complaining that relates to school. Another thing, sorry if I mislead you last chapter about this ending soon, I was talking about the slow, boring part that's been going on for such a long time…There's still quite a few things I want to do for this story, but we're definitely past the half point mark. The thought of ending this makes me sad sometime and I'm like "Don't think about it just yet, you're not there."**

** So yup. Enjoy ;)**

**XXXX**

Arthur sighed, raking a hand through his hair, sighing as he did so. He hadn't seen Alfred in a while and was hoping to find him before the concert he had tonight. If he did have one that was, Arthur wasn't so sure. Yesterday had been nice—finally giving Alfred that necklace, knocking a quick round with said American, the concert at the O2 before all of that. Yeah, life was all good at the moment. Now if only he could find Alfred…

He knocked on the door to Matthew and Francis's hotel room, not wanting to walk in on something unpleasant. Matthew's voice, muffled from being on the other side of the door, allowed Arthur in. The guitarist stepped into the room, pushing the door out of the way as he did so, greeting Matthew as he did so. "Say Matthew, have you seen Alfred at all?" he then asked after Matthew returned the greeting.

"What? Oh, the last time I saw him, he said he was going out to get something to eat," Matthew answered, nodding his head. "Francis went with him," he added before Arthur could ask the question to that answer.

"Ugh, you just let two maniacs loose on the city of London Matthew," Arthur sighed heavily. "Those two…can't really trust them without being supervised," he shook his head. "Come on, we should go look for them before they do something that'll land them in the newspapers," he urged, tugging lightly at the sleeve to Matthew's shirt. Rolling his eyes, the Canadian stood up and followed Arthur out the door.

"Not sure why you're so worried about them," Matthew said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"They managed to briefly convince us that the house was on fire Matthew," Arthur started. "And last time I checked, Alfred and Francis aren't a very good mix," he continued shaking his head as they exited the building. "Now, let's split up and look for either one."

"Or both since they left together," Matthew pointed out mater-of-factly, grinning as he did so. Arthur nodded his head and they split up.

Leave it to Francis to do something like this. He'd expect it more from Alfred, but Francis sometimes showed the potential of doing such a thing. Arthur was currently staring in slight disbelief at the words 'Bonnefoy was here', spray painted in large, curly, red letters. It was in an alley, on a small building that served as a bakery. With a huff, Arthur placed a hand on his hip and pulled his cell phone out and dialed Matthew's number.

After two rings, Matthew picked up on the other side. _"What is it Arthur? You find them?"_

"No, but I found that your boyfriend spray painted his last name on a wall," Arthur announced and he heard a chuckle come from Matthew's end. "What?"

"Funny how you found something from Francis while I found something from Alfred—his shirt was hanging over the edge of a garbage can," Matthew answered, still chuckling to himself as he spoke.

"T-that better be the _only_ thing you found!" Arthur stuttered angrily, his cheeks heating up. Matthew burst out laughing and Arthur had to wait a moment for the Canadian to get control over his laughter and answer.

Matthew finally calmed down and answered. "Don't worry about it, come on, we've been searching for quite a while, let's go back to the hotel and check if they're there already," Matthew answered and Arthur nodded his head with a 'yeah' even though Matthew couldn't see the physical answer. Arthur snapped his phone shut and sighed, forcing the blush down. That was rather…embarrassing.

They met at the front of the hotel, seating themselves on the steps that led up to the building. They hadn't been able to find the two 'madmen' on their ways back to the hotel unfortunately. "Where the hell could they be?" Arthur sighed frustratingly. "Francis did something illegal too by the way."

"I-I'm sure he has his reasons…" Matthew muttered, looking down at his hands. "Man—well they better get back before we have to leave to rehearse for the concert tonight," Matthew shook his head, straightening his back out so he was sitting upright instead of slouching over his knees. Arthur hummed and they fell into a wordless silence.

Once about ten minutes passed, Arthur sighed and stood up. "I'm going to start looking again," he announced and Matthew stood up as well, saying he'd return to looking as well. They turned their backs to each other and walked in opposite directions to resume their search.

Arthur knew he couldn't cover the whole city, so he decided to go back over the places he'd already been to—Alfred and/or Francis probably knew better than to go any further than a certain point. Well…hopefully.

Matthew huffed, pressing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose for they had begun to fall off. He was about to quit when he spotted a shirtless Alfred strolling down the sidewalk, one hand in his pocket while the other held a cheeseburger, grinning to himself. "Alfred!" he called, catching his half-brother's attention. The American's grin widened at the sight of his relative as Matthew approached him, eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Hey Mattie!" he waved, his grin only widening further if it were possible. For some reason he looked like he just had the time of his life. "Have you seen Francis anywhere?"

"Why the hell are you lacking a shirt?" Matthew barked, ignoring Alfred's question, the other being taken back at the sudden outburst. Before he could answer, Matthew huffed and almost immediately calmed himself. "Ugh, whatever, come on, we have to go back to the hotel, we have to leave for rehearsal in two hours," Matthew huffed, grabbing a hold on Alfred's wrist.

"Jeez dude, it wasn't me who lost the shirt, blame the fans," he snickered. "I'm surprised it didn't land in anyone's hands since I see that you have it," Alfred continued, still grinning.

"Don't blame your fans," Matthew muttered under his breath as they turned a corner onto the street that the hotel was on. Alfred's grin, having weakened as they walked in silence, returned with full force when he spotted Arthur dragging a spray paint covered Francis, even he could hear the Briton lecturing the French teen all the way over here. "Found him," Matthew announced when Arthur caught sight of the two. Francis looked over and grinned toothily at Alfred when he saw him, waving a hand excitedly.

"Hello Alfred! Whatdid you do after you escaped that angry shopkeeper?" he then asked, holding back snickers.

"Ha, ha! Dude, totally lost my shirt, terrorized people in a public park, ya know? One with the slides and stuff, and a few other things," Alfred answered enthusiastically. "Dude, what happened to you? I was looking for you, but couldn't find ya…"

Arthur and Matthew glanced at each other as the two chatted animatedly with each other. "I started a mini-concert at one of the music stores, used one of those guitars they leave out for people to try."

"Aww, dude! I should've been there!" Alfred piped. "…Oh! Hey, I stole a drunk guy's beer!" he snickered.

"You _stole_ someone's _beer_?" Arthur wailed, grabbing Alfred harshly by the upper arm since he had no shirt to tug at.

"Dude, I didn't drink it—plus I obviously did him a favor and kept him from drinking anymore, he was so freaking drunk!" Alfred laughed, placing his hands on his hips. "Hey Francis, you should write down everything you did so I can glue it into my journal!" Alfred returned his attention to the French guitarist standing next to him.

"After the concert," Matthew announced blandly and Alfred crossed his arms with a huff and a reluctant 'fine'.

"Oh, Artie, you should totally sing Déjà vu sometime," Alfred grinned and Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, questioning Alfred's suggestion. The American simply swung an arm around the British guitarist. "I dunno, it just…sounds like you," he snickered and ducked away when Arthur tried to hit him upside the head, Alfred laughing as he ran into the hotel, Arthur not too far behind.

Francis and Matthew remained outside for a brief moment before entering as well. "I don't get those two," Matthew shook his head and Francis chuckled, agreeing with him.

_December 30_

_London, England_

_ Totaly terrorized London with my awesomeness! Francis joined too but we got seperated after that guy came at us with a freaking bat! Obviosly a cricket bat since this is England we're talking about. I don't get why people even like cricket, it looks super boring, baseball's totaly better! We walked in and started rearanging all of the cd's and then Francis started imitating a guitar really loudly and badly and the guy tried to tell us to be quiet but Francis kept 'singing' over him. It was so funny, I think I partially died from laughter. The guy then realised that we were making the cd's all out of order and stuff and came at us with a bat. –Super happy face drawn here-_

_ I then got chased by fans all the way to a park, I don't know which one, lost my shirt during all of that too, not sure how. I managed to loose them and went to one of those kid parks with the slides and stuff and went crazy on a swing set. –Super happy face drawn here- When I got bored, I swung it over the top after getting off so that the chain was wrapped around the top bar of the stand thing. I'm not sure how they'll get it down, but it was fun. Scared a whole bunch of parents with my amazing parkour skills too. –Super happy face drawn here- Artie doesn't know that I can do parkour…maybe I'll show it them to him. –Happy face drawn here-_

_ Went to McDonald's (which I'm still suprised about these brits having) and met a what are they called? Coreografers? That's what the guy said. So he wipped out some moves on top of a table! He was so awesome at it, we got in trouble for knocking over a few tables though. He knows parkour too! Awesome!_

_ Fans caught up with me and had to run again, lost em again thank god. Walked down an allie and totaly saw Bonnefoy was here spray painted onto a wall. I laughed so hard, I didn't know the guy had it in him! God, that was amazing, Francis is almost awesome now. I wonder if he graffitied anything else around the place._

_ Oh, I was walking around town a bit and got bored. But then this super drunk guy came stumbling down the streets and decided to do the poor guy a favor like the hero I am. I took his beer and ran for my life! He was so angry, but couldn't chase me because I'm so freaking fast. And he was drunk, but I'm still fast! The guy obviously had to stop before he like, killed himself or something, I heard that you could die if you drink too much stuff like beer in a row. I didn't drink it though, yuck._

_-Transition to neat handwriting-_

_ Okay, so Alfred wants me to write down what I did after we got separated. Can do. After being chased away for mixing up CD's and singing horribly, I got separated from Alfred. I got bored easily too, so I found a whole bunch of other guys about my age and stole their can of spray paint. Had to run quite a bit though, but it was worth it._

_ Frist thing I did? Graffiti 'Bonnefoy was here' on the first clean wall I found of course. Then headed somewhere else, I don't know where and spray painted a huge Eiffel Tower under a bridge—I wonder if anyone will find it? Maybe since I saw a few boats go under it. Got paint all over me too when I decided to run it dry by continuously spraying it and running around the place a bit. I'm really glad the police didn't come after me. –Humorous smiley face drawn here- Dear Matthew would murder me. And Arthur. Let's not forget him._

_ First spray paint adventure aside (yes, I spray painted a bit more after that), I went to a music shop. One of those guitars they leave out so you can try it out just called to me, I swear. It was shiny too. So I picked it up and started playing the guitar part to DC and London because the guitar in it is just amazingly sexy. Definitely attracted attention too and soon I was holding a mini-concert. That was awesome—got some money too, I feel accomplished. _

_ Had to steal another can of spray paint and spray painted 'USUK' on another wall. Ha, ha, I really hope Arthur finds it sometime soon. Tabloids will go crazy if they find out I did all of this and I'll probably have police on me. Might as well keep it a secret, though the 'Bonnefoy was here' doesn't really help my situation. Might as well go back and paint over it after the concert. _

_ I swear to God I didn't spill that guy's tea on purpose. –Face similar to O_O drawn here- Knocked it out of his hand on accident and had to run pretty fast, the guy seemed to be having a bad day already and I just made it worse. I think I saw Alfred's shirt hanging on a garbage can too, but who knows? Sooner or later saw a shirtless Alfred running from fans, so maybe that was Alfred's shirt. Didn't go back to pick it up though—too afraid that the guy was still there. _

_ Was about to snoop out another guy to steal spray paint from (although it was kind of hard to come across another group of teens with a can of spray paint), but Arthur appeared out of nowhere—like, literally nowhere. Either that or I wasn't looking. He was pissed too. He ended my fun unfortunately, might have to come back to London and run around some more. I did some other things, but I can't remember, just came back from a concert._

_-Picture of the Big Ben, a double decker bus, a tea cup and a scone drawn in nice detail on the opposite page by Alfred-_

Alfred grinned and plopped himself in the seat next to Kiku. "So, we're going to go straight to Trafalgar Square after this right?"

"Yes, but I'm sure it'll be crowded," Kiku answered, absorbed in an article covering Alfred and Francis's shenanigans on the twenty sixth, the featured photo being one of Alfred being chased by his fans from a distance. It still was humorous nonetheless. Luckily for Francis, who had painted over the 'Bonnefoy was here' after the concert on the twenty sixth, the article didn't cover the graffiti. Apparently they still didn't know who did it and the French guitarist would rather keep it that way.

They were currently backstage at the O2, it being New Year's Eve that night. Alfred was basically a ball of endless energy, unable to sit still, too excited for midnight to strike and to watch the fireworks. He clearly loved them. All they had to do was get this concert done, go straight to Trafalgar Square and hopefully make it on time since the concert was supposed to end at ten thirty. Alfred had tried to convince Arthur into performing this concert, but the other declined the offer, though he did look like he was mentally warring over what to do.

"Come on guys, we should be going out now," Matthew announced as he passed the other three band members, Alfred jumping up excitedly while Kiku set the article down and stood up along with Francis. "After this, hopefully we can make it before midnight," Matthew continued as they prepared to go out.

"Dude, let's just get this over with! I can't wait!" Alfred whooped excitedly and with a roll of the eyes, Matthew, Kiku and Francis followed the singer out, met with loud cheers and blaring lights that made three out of the four of them cringe a bit before eventually adjusting.

They started the concert with one of their new songs, Fly Higher. The energy in the song was similar to This is War and there was a clean balance of guitar, drums and Alfred along with Francis had managed to fit in a piano part for poor Kiku who wasn't able to play his instrument as much as Francis and Matthew. The song actually was a story Alfred and Matthew came up with. It told of a young man in the air force who had no family or friends back home to anticipate his return. The guy's depressed and dedicates himself to flying, but eventually, while on a mission in a different country, he finds someone. They had just recently perfected it the twenty seventh after their second concert in Hyde Park.

The second song they played was I Don't Care. Matthew had worried over it though with what the lyrics told, but Alfred simply insisted that they play it because it was slightly true with them. Eventually Matthew agreed and they began practicing it a bit late. They had been a bit shaky on it during rehearsal, but when they played it now, it sounded fine.

It was then followed up with Animal. They clearly needed two guitars for it, which was one reason why Alfred tried to get Arthur to join for the night, but Francis managed to pull off some pretty impressive things. Even though Francis slipped up near the beginning, he quickly fixed the problem and continued playing one and a half parts, half because obviously it was impossible to duplicate two guitars on one. Alfred, when he sung the chorus, grinned at Arthur who was in the front row, smiling at them as they played. When he grinned at the guitarist, Arthur would lightly blush and avert his gaze so he was watching Matthew.

Strawberry Avalanche was their closing song and Kiku got his chance to play the keyboard again. Alfred bounced to the beat, looking over his shoulder after the chorus, during the small instrumental, grinning widely when he saw Kiku, eyes closed, dancing to the music he created. He then looked over at Matthew, who was bobbing his head to the beat he was creating. There was no guitar in the song, so Francis was Alfred's backup, echoing Alfred every now and then.

Alfred grinned widely when they finished the song, his voice still echoing since the microphone was set so that his voice would echo. They received cheers, Alfred waving a hand in the air and caught the bottle of water Matthew tossed at him. "Great job Mattie!"

"I could say the same, am glad we were able to pull off I Don't Care without a hitch," Matthew grinned back as Francis approached them, a toothy smile on his face along with Kiku who had a small smile stretching at his own lips. "Great job guys."

"Yeah, great job!" Alfred grinned, throwing his arms around Francis and Kiku's shoulders, pulling them closer. Francis obviously didn't approve, but let the American to so while Kiku stuttered about Alfred being in his personal space, trying to push the other off of him. "C'mon, we gotta get to the square or whatever it's called!" Alfred then piped. "Artie's gonna meet us backstage right?"

"Yup, let's clean up," Matthew nodded his head in confirmation and they walked over to the many cords, turning machines off and unplugging them as people filtered out of the large arena, though many stayed behind so they could watch them.

When they finished cleaning, they began to leave, Kiku returning to his magazine. He eyebrows rose slightly at what he read next. "Oh, is Gilbert Beilschmidt that rapper we collaborated with earlier on?" he asked. A tad interested, Matthew nodded his head and then asked Kiku why he wanted to know. "Well," he started, smiling to himself. "Apparently he's become a huge hit in Germany after singing Stereo Hearts."

"Holy shit! Seriously? Dude, that song's amazing!" Alfred piped, snatching the magazine from Kiku's hands. There was a photo of Gilbert and Ludwig, the camera angle above their heads, both of the brothers pointing at the camera, Gilbert grinning toothily while Ludwig seemed apathetic, a blank expression on his face.

"Isn't it a rap?" Matthew asked, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.

"Dude, we should collaborate with him—I'd sound amazing on the singing part and stuff and he'll be the rapper since he's a rapper!" Alfred grinned. "Even though I don't really like him, I've always wanted to sing that song! I love the chorus!"

"They have a video, so we could check it out," Kiku pointed out, snatching the magazine from Alfred's hands. "It's already really famous," he continued, shaking his head and smiling. Matthew's shoulders slumped slightly. He wondered it Gilbert actually learned the song and performed it for him—it had gotten him even more famous than he used to be that was for sure. In Germany that is, but when he goes back to America to perform there again, he'd probably get even more famous there too. "_To the West_ is getting big too."

"Man, you're making us sound like we're nothing compared to them!" Alfred complained, swatting Kiku in the upper arm playfully. "You gotta say good things about yourself every now and then," he continued.

"True, true," Kiku nodded his head and flipped the page to the magazine. "This is a new magazine, but it's super good I'd admit," Kiku announced, flipping it closed so he could check the title of the magazine. "_World Series: Rising Stars of the Twenty First Century_…" Kiku read out loud. "It's worldwide? That isn't common."

"Who cares! The more word that spreads, the more new fans!" Alfred grinned, peeking over Kiku's shoulder, trying to get a glance at the contents to the magazine. Kiku wasn't even ten pages in and it already was super interesting—covering Alfred and Francis's shenanigans on the twenty sixth and Gilbert's sudden rise to huge fame in Germany? It was an amazing magazine, that's all he could conclude so far. "Dude, can I read that when you're done?"

"Sure thing," Kiku nodded his head. Arthur approached them, a smile on his face.

"Good job you guys," was the first thing he said and Alfred briefly forgot about the magazine, turning to hug Arthur tightly.

"You think so? Aww, thanks! I don't think we're good unless you're with us though~!" Alfred grinned, pressing his cheek into Arthur's blond hair. Arthur huffed and shoved Alfred off of him, though he still looked happy at the moment. "Come on guys, we gotta go! To whatever the square's called!" Alfred pointed in a random direction, grinning widely as he spoke. "And Artie, I'm totally going to kiss you at midnight and you can't stop me!"

XXXX

**Déjà Vu by 3OH!3**

**This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars**

**I Don't Care by Fallout Boy**

**Animal by Neon Trees**

**Strawberry Avalanche by Owl City**

**Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes**

** Listen to Stereo Hears nao if you haven't heard it O_O It's amazing and kind of fitting (vaguely) for Gilbert after being rejected by Matthew for the umpteenth time. I really like how this chapter turned out :D It makes me happy. Okay, hopefully two more chapters before their world tour ;) So please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends.**


	29. Chapter 29

** Oh dear, I just put a chip in the new floor that we just got two days ago with my laptop by dropping it…ThousandYearFlyer00 says I'm going to be skinned alive when mom figures out. This sucks…But hey! It's finally snowing like it should be here! It's just coming down—makes me feel like it's Christmas all over only difference being that I have to go back to school on Tuesday ('cause it's Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday). Enjoy~**

**XXXX**

Within time, the band had to go back to America. Alfred had to be drug to the airport by Matthew. Just as they had stepped on the plane, Alfred started freaking out so badly that he and Matthew began yelling at each other since their seats were right next to each other. Flight attendance ended up having to separate the two and Alfred texted Matthew what was wrong.

Apparently he was freaking out about not telling Arthur about the world tour and asking him to come along. Matthew told him not to worry since they still were in the process of getting it all scheduled before continuing with telling Alfred not to freak out so badly over something so miniscule.

They spent the rest of winter break finishing the homework their teachers decided to give to them for probably some sort of torture. They also spent most of their time getting ready for school which Alfred clearly decided to procrastinate on. Matthew eventually forced Alfred to do it all the day before school was back in. Alfred had been a bit sulky after coming back from England—obviously he was missing Arthur.

The next five and a half weeks of school went by rather uneventfully save for the few photo shoots Matthew's mother allowed them to go to. There were absolutely no concerts and it bored Alfred so much that he began to bother his band mates. Francis had kicked Alfred out of his house multiple times along with Matthew placing a permanent ban on Alfred. Kiku dealt with the American, though clearly didn't want to be with the American.

Alfred tried to occupy himself by playing video games with Kiku, attempting to convince Matthew to lift the ban and even going as far as visiting Francis every now and then. When all three would reject him, he would either text, email or call Arthur who was obviously getting tired of the other constantly pestering him. Alfred told Arthur about the world tour that was now official before asking the guitarist (more like begging), to join them. Arthur had said that he'll see before muttering about not exactly wanting to spend two summers in a row touring with a band.

It was currently the last day of school in June, Alfred bouncing with excitement. They were leaving for Ottawa in Canada in two days and Arthur would join them when they got to Madrid in Spain right after that. Luckily you didn't really do anything on the last day of school, so he could daydream as much as he wanted. Other students swarmed around him, wanting to talk about the upcoming world tour and of course, Alfred did talk with them.

It was currently fifth period when Alfred received an email from Yao. It was kind of a shock that the Chinese violinist would send him an email just out of the blue unless he was announcing something like he wanted to collaborate. Other than that, Alfred really didn't know what it would be about. So he opened it and read it.

_ Hiya Alfred. I know this is kinda out of the blue—but I kinda have a problem…I like someone, but obviously they don't feel the same and…stuff. They talk about you a lot too, so I assume that you were involved with them in some way. Did something happen? If so, could you tell me if you're okay with that? Ugh—it's Ivan I'm talking about. Braginsky. The bass guitarist? I know you've collaborated with him before I think for that Fourth of July concert you had last summer, so hopefully you know who I'm talking about…_

Oh yeah. Alfred knew who Yao was talking about.

_I'm asking you because since I tagged along with you guys for the tour of America and saw you and Arthur's struggles together, that maybe you could lend me some advice? Man, I feel dumb for going to you of all people—no offense. If not, do you know anyone that helped you out or something so I can ask them? _

_ I asked Ivan out to dinner one day because I managed to get up enough courage to do so but…he kinda turned me down. Bluntly if I must. And even though I really like him, I don't know if he's right for me. Man, I better not be confusing you. Sorry if I am. I'll just conclude this email by saying that my trip to China was really fun and I recommend Beijing to you._

Alfred tilted his head to the side. Yao was crushing on Ivan who still carried a torch for him. Him. Ivan didn't seem like that kind of guy, but the Russian apparently still reserved himself for Alfred—and he didn't like it. Alfred actually didn't like it. Hadn't he learned about him and Arthur yet? They were all over the tabloids!

With a huff, Alfred began to type out his reply on his phone. It was a bit tricky, but Alfred had gotten used to it.

_Dude, Wang-man Ivan's just not being cool. Here, I'll email him for you is that okay? I didn't think he'd keep suporting me either cause he doesn't seem like that kind of guy…I'll tell him that I'm with Artie and that he should give you a chance, does that sound good? Hm…I'd advise that you ask Mattie next time though, he's like, super good with this stuff :)_

He then found Ivan's email address on the internet, which took a bit of time before typing an email to the Russian. Hopefully this worked.

_Hey Braginskii (sorry, don't know how to spell your name)! Haven't heard from me much since the party in Whisconsin lately huh? Well uh…sorry for bothering you that night. But anyways, this isn't the topik I wanted to talk to you about! Did Yao ask you out one day? If so, why'd you turn him down? If it WAS about me, then no. Just no. Haven't you heared about me and Arthur being together? If not then I guess you don't really check the tabloids out…but still. Give the guy a chance! He's sulking over you and I don't like sad friends. So go now! D:_

_ Oh, dude, did you hear about the tour I'm gonna be on? Totaly going to go to Canada first! _

_ So yeah. Go to Yao, the guy wants to talk with you :)_

He grinned at his work before sending it. It wasn't Matthew-quality, but he hoped Ivan understood what he was trying to say. If not, then he didn't know what to do—maybe get Matthew to talk with the Russian, but that might not work either.

Alfred pocketed his phone and leant back in his seat. He had nothing to do and was slightly thankful for the email Yao sent him. He wondered what the Chinese boy was doing at the moment. Was he in school like Alfred, or was he out having his own fun? Man, Alfred would be jealous if that were the case. Sometimes school just really sucked.

_Thanks for doing so then._

Alfred read Yao's short reply and he grinned. He liked helping people out—maybe that was why Matthew would talk to him whenever he had a slight or large problem. Though right now, Matthew seemed to be sick of him with the ban and all. He huffed to himself once more, though less frustrated that the first. Why couldn't the school day just end already? He was going around the world in two days!

_Oh really? No thanks—Yao's not my type. He's too, oh what's the word? Too something. I just don't really find anything interesting about him. Yes I've heard about you and Arthur, but what's going to keep me from trying?_

He sat up straighter at the reply Ivan almost immediately sent him. Furrowing his eyebrows, Alfred rested his elbows on his desk, holding his cellular out in plain sight as he pondered over how to reply to the bass guitarist. The guy had just said that he didn't like Yao and probably only would acknowledge the other as an acquaintance. And what did he mean by 'keeping him from trying'? That implied that Ivan might try to take him from his precious Arthur!

Alfred had figured out that he had only been physically attracted to the Russian quite a while ago during their tour of America last summer. Now that he thought about it—he was glad he didn't end up in something more with the silver haired teen. The other was kind of socially awkward with how he acted when he left the party in Wisconsin with Alfred. Ivan seemed like he felt out of place and had ended up leaving Alfred anyways that night. That wasn't something he wanted. He wanted someone that would stand with him through everything no matter how much of a burden he'd become. Arthur did that even if he was reluctant—he did run away from his problems with Alfred twice, but with the help of everyone, came out alive in the end.

_Dude, I'm never going to kiss you even again. I mean, I'm not trying to be mean, but I just don't want to, the thought is kind of…disgusting even. Well don't think about yourself then and give Yao a chance._

He hit send and set his mobile on the desk, looking up at the whiteboard that was clearly blank, for the teachers had stopped giving lessons a week ago. Finals had been held yesterday and Monday—but Wednesday, which was their last day of school—was a free day. Alfred didn't understand why they still forced you to go to school, but didn't really complain. Okay fine, he complained plenty, but that's beside the point.

"Can I come in please? Come on Mattie, I really need to talk to you right now!" Alfred begged at Matthew's doorstep.

"No Alfred, I'm getting ready for the tour and if it's nothing important, I'm going to close this door."

"Dude! Wang-man's totally having problems with Ivan! Ya know? That bass guy that I uh…" Alfred twiddled his thumbs behind his back and told himself that he wasn't blushing. "Well anyways! He emailed me about having trouble with Ivan and decided to come to me, having witnessed a bit of Artie and mine's problems. And then I told him I'd email Ivan and did so and Ivan says he really doesn't like Yao all that much and then goes on about trying to take me from Arthur! That's really not cool Mattie—this _is_ important!" he reasoned all in one breath.

"Ugh, fine, at least it's reasonable…" Matthew sighed and stepped aside, granting Alfred access to his home.

"Thank you!" Alfred grinned, bounding in and throwing himself on the couch. "So what do I do? I obviously can't do this alone and since you're super epic at reasoning, you gotta help me out here."

"Okay, since I didn't really digest what you said at my door, what's the real problem here?" Matthew asked as he seated himself in the chair next to the couch since Alfred was currently hogging it with his whole body.

"Yao likes Ivan—Ivan doesn't like him and wants me. That's basically it," Alfred rephrased, making a few hand motions as he explained it. "I can't do it alone and I need your help since you're awesome at this kind of stuff," he continued, glancing up at Matthew with a silly grin despite the topic at hand. "So wha'ddya have to say?"

"Okay, so you're saying that Yao likes Ivan, but Ivan doesn't like him for some reason and wants you. Like, how did he say it?" God he felt like a therapist.

"Well, here, let me open the email," Alfred tugged his phone out of his pocket, opened his email account and found Ivan's email. "'Oh really? No thanks—Yao's not my type. He's too, oh what's the word? Too something. I just don't really find anything interesting about him. Yes I've heard about you and Arthur, but what's going to keep me from trying?' I mean—that's a threat right?" Alfred asked after reading the email out loud. "The last part?"

"Yeah, that kind of is a problem," Matthew shook his head. "I don't…I really don't know what to do here," he continued, looking up at Alfred. "But unless Ivan goes after you, I say we don't interfere with it at all."

"What?" Alfred sat up quickly. "Mattie, not cool! Yao's our friend and he needs our help and shit!" he stared stonily at his half-brother who didn't seem fazed. God, Matthew was being a dick right now. "Dude, stop looking at me like that! This is like—really not you, what's up? Did you and Francis have an argument or something?"

"No it's just. Ugh, we can't get involved in everybody's business—"

"But Yao asked for my help," Alfred butt in. "So that means we should help."

"No it doesn't. Alfred, you have to learn to decline a few things here and there," Matthew sighed. "You're trying to help everyone, it's going to stress you out and make you busier than you already are," he continued with a shake of his head. "So unless there's a really big issue, let's not deal with it. Yao's only crushing on Ivan who doesn't like him back, no big deal. I don't know—learn to be a bit more…selfish."

Alfred sat in his room, staring at his phone as he thought over Matthew's words. Matthew obviously wasn't acting like Matthew and it was bothering Alfred. Maybe he should call Francis and tell the other to knock a quick one with his relative and see if it would make a difference. Hopefully they were doing so right now since Francis arrived just as Alfred stormed out.

With a sigh, he picked up his phone and dialed Arthur's number.

"_Alfred, quit—"_

"No Artie, this isn't about me being bored…" Alfred muttered, though he smiled nonetheless at Arthur's voice.

"_What's wrong? You don't sound good…_" the Brit replied, concern filtering into his voice. "_Did something happen over there?"_

"No…yes…well sorta. Yao emailed me that he liked Ivan and I told him I'd email the guy for him and Ivan says he doesn't like Yao."

"_How should that affect you?"_

"God, you sound like Mattie—let me get to the side-problem. I told Ivan that I was with you and that he should give Yao a chance since the guy still wants me," he pat his chest. "And in his reply, he said he knew that I was with you, but that 'wouldn't keep him from trying'. That means Ivan's going to come after me right?"

"_Y-yeah."_

_ "_So I go and tell Mattie and he's all like 'oh, don't bother with it, it's no big deal'," Alfred's voice was a mocking tone, though frustrated. "Yao _clearly_ asked for my help and even then, Ivan's being a problem!" Alfred shook his head. "How can Mattie _not_ see that it's a 'big deal'?"

"_…I don't know Alfred."_

"Ugh, does anyone know? I can't do this alone!" Alfred whined in frustration, balling his fists. "I want to help, but nobody knows what to do!" he continued. "Man, I wish we were going over this personally…"

"_Calm down Alfred. I think you should do what you think is right—I'll help you out a bit more when we meet in Madrid—we're collaborating with _To the West _there by the way,"_ Arthur briefly changed the subject. "_I personally think you should help Yao out just enough to nudge him in the right direction, you know what I mean? Like, just enough so that it doesn't burden you too much." _

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Alfred sighed. "The 'Catch you When You Fall' kind of guy?"

"_Sort of."_

"Thanks Artie—you were so much more help than Mattie," Alfred smiled as Arthur thanked him before going on about it being no problem. "So…I'll be seeing you again in Spain?"

"_I guess."_

"M'kay. Love ya."

"_I love you too."_

"Bye," and he flipped his cellular shut gently when Arthur returned the goodbye. He fell back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He knew he should be basically done with getting ready for the tour, but he had gotten absolutely nothing done. Packing up and stuff wasn't exactly his kind of thing. And they were collaborating with To the West in their second destination? Who were those guys again? Antonio, Lovino and Feliciano if he wasn't mistaken. He heard that Gilbert and Ludwig had joined the three during their tour of Europe over winter break. Ludwig was such an awesome guitarist too! He hated to admit it, but even better than Arthur. Like Francis had said at the O2, Ludwig was a whole different ballpark.

Alfred sighed heavily before sitting up and checking a text message Matthew has just sent him, apologizing for his earlier words before explaining that he'd had a horrible day despite it being the last day of school. Alfred smiled and told Matthew not to fret over it, having already slightly forgiven him before shutting his phone once more and setting it on the nightstand.

Literally one year ago, they had become something huge. Well, they did have a concert before the School's Out one, but that was like a preview or something. Today was their one year anniversary if he wanted to say so. He grinned, remembering clearly that Arthur had come a few days late due to bad weather keeping the flights grounded. He also remembered how Matthew had to take anxiety pills before concerts. He didn't now since he's gotten used to them with how many times they'd performed. What else did he do when they first got famous? He got a new phone whilst running from fans with Mattie—that was a humorous mental image. Went to a restaurant Francis introduced to him that played some pretty good western music. Went back with Arthur and totally embarrassed themselves in public. Francis still flirted with anything with a pulse back then. Their first photo shoot.

God, now he felt old for reminiscing. Rolling onto his stomach, Alfred leant over and swiped his phone off of the nightstand and texted Arthur, grinning to himself.

**[Alfred]**

**Ugh! Dude, I really feel old right now! I'm thinking over everything we did literally one year ago!**

He set the phone next to him and grabbed his iPod off of the nightstand as well. Call him egotistical, but he bought two of their albums already. The one he sent to Arthur and their first one mostly because those two had good songs and that Arthur had recorded with them. The most recent one had no trace of the Brit which made it feel kind of empty to Alfred.

**[Arthur]**

**As in?**

**[Alfred]**

**Remembre the time when we were at that restorante and I think I fell on top of you?**

**[Arthur]**

**Oh yes, I remember that clearly...**

Alfred snickered and mentally warred over whether Arthur meant that in a way that was like 'Oh God, don't even mention it' or 'Hell yeah, come over here and let's get it on'. He preferred the latter, though it was more likely the first giving who he was texting to. Francis seemed like the kind of guy to do the latter.

He texted with Arthur until it transformed into sexting before Matthew barged in, Alfred jumping so badly that he dropped his phone over the edge of his bed since he had his hands hung over the edge. The Canadian then proceeded with telling Alfred that he needed to get ready, seeing that Alfred obviously wasn't prepared.

Huffing with a moody 'fine', Alfred rolled off of bed and started preparing with Matthew's assistance. The two acted like the problem with Yao and Ivan was nonexistent the whole time, laughing and talking as Alfred brought up everything that they did last year. Matthew remembered their trip to (he assumed) Best Buy to get Alfred a new phone like it was yesterday.

Alfred was all smiles when he got another email from Yao and opened it up.

_Ivan told me he hates me. What's going on?_

No matter how many ways it could've been taken—angry, confused, Alfred could tell those few words were full of heartbreak. Yao was probably sobbing over his phone or computer as he typed that, though that was a bit far, so Alfred shoved that aside. His smile had dissolved instantaneously and his shoulders slumped as he stared down at his phone. Matthew asked him what the problem was and Alfred reluctantly showed his half-brother the email. For a moment, Alfred thought that Matthew would tell him, again, to leave the problem be.

"I think we should help," he said instead and Alfred smiled gently at his half-brother.

"Awesome. So how're we going to start?"

"Easy. You have to comfort someone first before you can get anything actually going. It won't be easy, but it won't be any easier when someone's in a mess."

"Wait, how're we going to comfort him over the internet? He can assume that our words are empty…" Alfred asked, shifting his position on the bed so that it was more comfortable.

"We donate a day to helping him out—c'mon, he's in Parker, Arizona from what I've heard, we can drive there, it'll only take three hours," Matthew stood up along with Alfred who had a grin stretching his lips.

"Good to have the normal you back," Alfred placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder and the Canadian smiled back at him, nodding his head before taking his phone out to call Francis, his mother and Kiku to tell them that he and Alfred were off to visit Yao.

XXXX

** Oh God, I just realized that 'therapist', if you add a space in the right place, become 'the rapist'. I literally just noticed that when I first typed it in this chapter…I'll never look at it the same way ever again D: Alright guys, boring part's over, am throwing in some rocky roads now ;D So I really don't have anything to say other than I should start proofing my work again :P I haven't been doing so lately and you can probably tell :P So please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	30. Chapter 30

** M'kay, am super frustrated right now. Ugh. **

**XXXX**

They headed straight to Parker, Arizona after locating the hotel Yao was in via internet. It took about two and a half hours and on their way there, Alfred would brainstorm songs with Matthew who decided that he'd be driving. Alfred suggested a few Spanish songs he knew before Matthew declined them, telling him to save them for Spain. "But we can use some French songs."

"What? I don't know any French songs," Alfred tilted his head, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "Uh…yeah, I don't know any," he continued after a brief moment of blank thinking, shaking his head. "I don't take French and our Spanish teacher plays some good Spanish songs, that's mainly why I know a few."

"Mm, I guess I'm the same case, just with French. My teacher plays a few songs," Matthew answered, eyes glued to the road. He then smiled toothily. "Hah, you should've seen me when she played a song called _Francis_."

"Whoa!" Alfred's eyes widened. "Dude, seriously? Man, that's awesome! I know a song called _Alfie_, but uh…the lyrics…" Alfred trailed off and Matthew chuckled. He'd heard the song and concluded that if Arthur and Alfred weren't in such a good relationship, that'd be something Arthur would sing to Alfred. "Guh…what's _Francis_ about?"

"Oh, just some love story kind of thing," he smiled, his gaze taking on a dreamy look before fully returning his focus to the road. "I think I want to sing it for a concert—it's got plenty of piano in it, so Kiku can get his fill of performing."

"Aww, that's cool," Alfred grinned and turned his head so he could look out the window to his right. "Hm…I wonder if there's a song called Arthur or something close to that…" he muttered mostly to himself, though Matthew heard it nonetheless. He was about to say something when Alfred piped up once more. "Oh! Heard this awesome song called _Canadian Please_, and I laughed so freaking hard! It has me, Artie and Francis kinda mentioned in it too! And there's this amazing rap Artie and I should do called _UK Visa Versa_," Alfred continued, leaning back in his seat comfortably. "Man, that'd be awesome—we should dedicate a whole concert to just songs about countries and stuff like that—can you name a few more we could do?"

"Uh…I don't really think so…" Matthew shook his head. "No, I don't think I know any other songs about countries or stuff like that other than national anthems. And I've never heard of _UK Visa Versa_."

"Then Artie and I shall show it to you in Spain!" Alfred grinned toothily at his half-brother. "It's awesome, that's all I can say."

"Okay, whatever you say."

They eventually arrived in Parker, Arizona two hours later. They got lost and eventually scouted out the hotel Yao was in. The two entered, regretting that they had forgotten to bring hats, or at least sunglasses in hopes of not being noticed. Basically everyone that passed by them immediately recognized the two half-brothers and began attempting to chat with them or get them to sign objects.

"Damn it, forgot to bring something to cover up my face…" Alfred grunted, walking a bit faster. "I don't want to deal with these guys…"

"I know, but this is something that comes with being famous no matter what," Matthew answered and they entered the hotel, spotting Yao's manager thankfully and going straight for him. "_Ni hao_, we kinda need some help here—uh, Matthew Williams and Alfred Jones from _The United Nations_," Matthew sputtered out hastily.

Yao's manager immediately recognized the two and nodded his head, pressing the call button to the Bluetooth in his ear. He muttered something in Chinese and looked back down at the two just as Matthew gave their reason for being there.

Yao sighed and rolled onto his side. Alfred hadn't replied to his email yet, so he assumed the American was dead busy with getting ready for his worldwide tour. With another sigh, he pulled the covers further over his body when someone knocked on the door. He sat up quickly, letting out an irritated huff and stepped over to the door, getting ready to yell at whoever was there—even if it was his manager. "Wha—" he fell silent when he saw that it was both Matthew and Alfred standing at his door, Alfred wearing a bright grin while Matthew looked a bit concerned.

"Ah, heard about your problem with Ivan," Matthew stated before coughing into his fist. "Um…can we come in?"

"…Oh sure," Yao stepped aside for the two to enter the hotel room, it taking a short moment for him to realize that Matthew had asked for entrance. "So you drove all the way here?"

"Well, we don't really live that far so…yeah, here we are," Matthew answered, smiling softly at Yao as if the other would fragment at any moment. "I think he already told you, but Al confronted me about your problem and I decided that I'd help," Matthew left out the part where he had told Alfred not to deal with Yao's problems.

"Didn't you uh…not want anything to do with me?" Yao asked as he seated himself on the bed just as Alfred did so as well.

"Yeah, but Mattie changed his mind—he's just having a bad day," Alfred shrugged his shoulders. "Damn, this bed's soft!" he was then smacked upside the head by Matthew who seated himself next to his relative.

"Stay on topic Alfred," Matthew grunted and Yao grinned at the two's interaction. "So, is there anything we can do for you?" he then asked, turning his attention to the Chinese instrumentalist , his tone changing from harsh to tender and concerned. God, Yao wasn't that fragile, couldn't Matthew see that?

"Uh no, no, I don't want to bother you two, don't you have a tour to be getting ready for?" Yao asked, trying to change the subject. Now that they were here personally, he really didn't want to talk about it—conversing over email was a bit more private than this clearly. "I-I mean, you didn't need to come all the way here."

"Again, we don't live very far from here and we really want to help—no backing out now," Matthew refused to really make it a choice.

"Yeah! We're your friends Wang-man! To the end!" Alfred grinned toothily and gave Yao a thumbs up. "I can definitely help you out with all of this stuff, 'cause I'm awesome!"

"Ugh," Matthew rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to Alfred, he obviously doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to relationships," he muttered to Yao, leaning closer to the other as if they were sharing a secret. Alfred whined childishly in the background only to be ignored as Matthew continued. "Obviously I understand this stuff a bit more than he does."

"Not true Wang-man! Look at Artie and I and then compare us to Mattie and Frenchie! Totally way better of course!" Alfred grinned, shoving Matthew out of the way. "I mean, we've got freaking history!" he continued almost triumphantly before being shoved aside by Matthew comically.

"History, shmistory, Alfred had to get to know Arthur while I didn't have to take so much time," Matthew grunted.

"No way dude! Not cool!" Alfred wailed as he tried to shove Matthew off of him, the Canadian having thrown his whole body on top of his American half-brother to keep the other pinned. "Artie's obviously tougher to get along with than Frenchie, remember—he flirted with anything with a pulse, so Mattie here got a head start!"

"Oh shut up, I think it's harder to get through to one that flirts with everyone because they flirt with everyone!"

"That makes no sense!" Yao swore he had one of those drops of sweat one had in the anime as he watched the two argue over whose relationship was…what's the word?

"So where are you going first?" Yao asked, deciding to change the topic completely so he wouldn't have to talk about Ivan. "Was it Ontario, Canada?"

"Ottawa, Canada," Matthew answered almost immediately, being the one more interested in the northern country than Alfred was. "We're going there first and then are going straight to the capital of Spain to collaborate with _To the West_."

"Damn it Alfred, we went completely off topic and didn't address the problem at hand!" Matthew wailed as he forced Alfred to carry all of the luggage Matthew had decided to take with. "We went to talk about Ivan, not our damn tour!"

"Dude, you totally started it anyways, it all starts with the argument we had," Alfred crossed his arms smartly once he hauled Matthew rucksack into the private jet Matthew's mother had gotten her hands on for them.

"What in the world are you two talking about?" Francis asked as he straightened up from his spot bent over Matthew's scattered drum set.

"Okay, so you know how we visited Yao on Wednesday?" Alfred asked, placing his hands on his hips as Matthew threw another bag at the American's feet. He glanced down at it briefly before ignoring it for the moment and continuing. "Okay, so we started talking about helping Yao and then it soon evolved into something about whose relationship was…something, I don't know the word and then we ended up talking about our tour."

"What about relationships?"

"Well, I told Yao that Alfred didn't know what he was talking about with relationships because obviously, he doesn't."

"Hey! Shut up, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to that stuff!"

"And then he went on about him and Arthur having history, thus proving that their relationship's…better than our and I told him that that was the case because it took Alfred that long to get things set straight."

"Bleh!" Alfred stuck his tongue out. "And I told you that it's harder to get through with Artie because he's…well, he's just Artie!"

"But remember what I said about Francis? It's clearly harder to get through to someone who used to flirt almost hourly because they flirt almost hourly!"

"That still makes no sense!"

"Of course it does! Because they flirt so much, they might've seen it all and stuff like that!"

"Hmph, well then obviously you're like...something."

"Hah!" Matthew barked, a wide, triumphant grin stretching his lips. "Exactly! My relationship's better than yours!" he continued, pointing a finger up at Alfred who was up the stairs that led to the entrance of the plane. He then bent over and tossed another bag up as Alfred kicked the one originally at his feet into the plane.

"Shut up…" Alfred muttered, pouting a bit. Francis grinned and pulled Matthew into a one armed hug.

"You just declared war _mon amour_," he chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"Alfred's obviously going to go tell Arthur about this and sooner or later we'll have this big argument over whose relationship's better," Francis explained before kissing the other on the forehead. "C'mon, might as well enjoy the rest of the peace," he looked up at Alfred just as the other sent a text message likely to Arthur.

About three minutes of throwing things into the plane passed before Francis's phone began vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and grinned, his prediction being accurate.

**[Arthur]**

**If it's war you want, it's war you'll get bloody wanker!**

"See?" he showed the screen of his phone so Matthew could see it. Matthew sighed and rubbed his forehead, muttering under his breath before restating that he still thought that their relationship was better than Alfred and Arthur's. Francis chuckled to himself and stuffed his cellular back into his pocket, resuming with packing the rest of Matthew's drum set in the cargo hold of the jet.

Within time, they finally finished their task and fully entered the jet. Alfred took out his journal first thing along with a pencil. With a grin, he got comfortable and thought over what he'd be writing.

_June 9_

_On our way to Ottawa, Canada_

_ Bleh, Mattie's just being dumb. He says his relationship with Frenchie's better than the one Artie and I have, but obviously, it's not. We dominate. Oh, and Yao's having relationship problems with Ivan, the bass player, though I think I already wrote that in my last journal entry. Mattie and I tried to help, but it ended up in an arguement over who's relationship was better and eventually it turned into a talk about the tour we're leaving for right now. But I really hope Yao can figure things out before things get out of hand since I think Ivan threatened me or something along those lines. _

_ Well, other than that, we're off to Canada! –Happy face drawn here- Ha, I can even tell that Mattie's super excited, even though he's trying to hide it. He's been wanting to go to Ottawa Canada in forever! We're then going to go meet To the West in Madrid Spain and Artie. Let's not forget Artie! Though I have been hearing from him that his brothers are acting up about the whole being famos thing. Well you know what? Sucks for you. And his parents are all like 'Oh, this is taking our baby boy away, BAAAW'. Well you know what? Sucks for you. You didn't really give him much attention in the first place, so now it's coming back to bite you in the ass. _

_ God, why am I writing like I'm actually talking to them? Whatever. I wonder how To the West's doing, heard that Gilbort and Ludwig joined them not too long ago. Dude, I really want to see them preform personally, it'll be so awesome, I always hear so many positive things about them other than all of them being gay. Hm…people might start bashing on us sooner or later now that we're getting even bigger…But still, collaborating with them sounds so amazing! We're both so good and especially with the addition of Ludwig. He's such a good guitar player, I don't even think Artie and Frenchie can compete with him even if they were combined. I don't want to admit that out loud either. Let's see, let me write myself a reference so I know things later._

_Antonio – Guitar_

_Ludwig – Guitar (and pretty amazing at it)_

_Gilbert – Rapper (Used to spell it with a 'w'!)_

_Felisiano – Guitar, piano, saxaphone, bass guitar, flute, violin, viola, other stuff (damn, I'm impressed…and I though Yao knew how to play a lot of instruments!)_

_Romano – Drums (I can see why...)_

_Ivan – Bass guitar_

_Yao – Violin, Chello( I dunno, does he play that?), flute, piano._

_Roder-something – Piano_

_That Korean dude – Drums, violin_

_That Cuban dude that doesn't like me – Drums (and steel drums! –happy face drawn here-)_

_ There's my amazing reference thing of heroicness. I might write more later after I learn those three guys' at the bottom's names. Hah, I still can't wait to see Ludwig shred on his guitar. _

_ Uh…I think that's all I'll write for now._

_-Detailed guitar drawn here-_

"Hey, are you willing to read one of your journals out loud for me?" Matthew asked, leaning over so that he was looking at the messy handwriting displayed openly on the open journal.

Alfred grinned. "I though journals were supposed to be private Mattie?" he joked before shaking his head and flipping to a random page in his journal that he'd be fine with sharing. "But sure, I could read one for ya. Why, do you need help falling asleep?" he joked once more and Matthew swat him atop his head in slight irritation.

"M'kay, I'll read this one. October thirty first, home. Mattie totally would choose to be a polar bear for Halloween. It was just so stupid—"

"It was not stupid!"

"It was just so stupid. I went as a fireman of course 'cause I have access to dad's fireman stuff. I feel kinda bad for Mattie since he doesn't really get to see dad as much as I do and stuff. Anyways, Francis came as a painter like the boring French Fry he is. Bleh. Kiku was a kick ass samurai though a Pokémon trainer would've been cool too."

"I've been wondering, but maybe we'll be able to go to England and perform? Just for winter break or something like that. I've talked with Mattie about this a while ago, but I can't remember what his answer was…That's all for now."

Matthew straightened up from slouched position. "That one was shorter than the one you just wrote."

"Well, obviously nothing really was going on then. We had no concerts, no nothing Mattie!" Alfred grinned, closing the notebook. "I'll read more to you later," he added before Matthew could say anything further.

Matthew went straight into the hotel room he was to share with Francis, grinning at the large window that was basically the whole wall that looked out at the city of Ottawa. He dropped his bad on the floor and walked closer to it, taking in as much as he could from their high height. "This is awesome!" he grinned at Francis just as the other plopped himself onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

"Yup, really nice here. I think it's the nicest hotel we've been in other than the one we had in London," Francis observed as he inspected the interior of the room from his spot in the middle of the bed. Matthew threw himself onto the bed, landing next to the other wavy haired blond. "So where's our concert at?"

"The National Art's Centre," Matthew answered. "Tomorrow night."

Francis nodded his head and rolled onto his stomach. "Alright, sounds good."

"And please don't vandalize this city…" Matthew continued with a grin and Francis rolled his eyes, reassuring the Canadian that he didn't need to worry about him running around the city of Ottawa.

"Besides, I did that just because it was England," Francis continued with a sly grin and Matthew snickered. The two lay in bed for a moment before Matthew rolled off and stood up.

"Hey, how 'bout we go walk around the place?" he asked, grinning excitedly to himself. "It'll be fun, promise."

"No need to promise anything," Francis shook his head and stood up with the Canadian. "Let's do everything one would do in a week," he then added whilst taking Matthew's hand and guiding him out of the hotel room. Matthew still couldn't stop hoping that Yao was okay at the moment.

XXXX

**Francis by Coeur de Pirate**

**Alfie by Lily Allen**

**Canadian Please by Gunarolla**

**UK Visa Versa by MC Lars **

** Uh…whoops…another filler…shit. Things are going to pick up again though, I promise. Definitely next chapter (hopefully I can keep that promise…). So bleck. Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	31. Chapter 31

** Yaay, I finished my finals today and I have to say, they were pretty damn easy. I love how them make it seem like it's super hard and jazz like that, but then when you finally do it you just breeze right through it. I guess if that's the case for you then you have good teachers :) Either that or you actually studied—I didn't :P So, other than my useless information about my finals, enjoy ;)**

**XXXX**

_Hey Alfred. It's Yao again. Heard that Ivan's tour will overlap with yours on Germany so could you confront him for me personally? Of course I can't go fly off to Germany on a whim because of…stuff. So yeah, could you talk to him for me? I think having you talk to him will help a bit more anyways. Sorry for burdening you with this…_

III

Alfred stretched and yawned, having just arrived in Spain from Canada. It was still kind of hard to believe that it was already morning here, but that was how time zones worked he guessed. They were currently waiting for _To the West_ and Arthur to arrive for they were all supposed to meet at this airport since all of their planes landed at the same one. "Who else wants to just go to the hotel and sleep?"

"Quit your complaining," Matthew huffed, crossing his arms. "You could've slept on the plane you know."

Alfred simply grinned at his half-brother and yawned again. Luckily for them today was an off day for them before they had two concerts tomorrow, so that meant that they had a full day to do whatever they wanted. He looked back up and grinned when he saw every member of _To the West_ approaching them, Antonio waving excitedly at Francis.

"_Hola mi amigo! Como estas?" _Antonio grinned toothily, throwing an arm around Francis's shoulder. "You look good to me."

"I have no idea what you just said," Francis furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before throwing an arm around Antonio's shoulder. "But sure, I know what _amigo_ means," he continued with a confident grin as Matthew rolled his eyes at the two. Francis looked at the other five accompanying Antonio and—wait. Five? "Who's the lady?" he asked, pointing at a long, wavy haired brunette.

Antonio stopped his chatting and looked at the girl, for a moment looking as if he didn't recognize her before grinning widely once more. "Ah! That's Gilbert's girlfriend!" he snickered.

"Shut up geek!" Gilbert snapped, shaking a fist threateningly at Antonio while both Francis and Matthew rose their eyebrows in confusion and a hint of interest.

"Ha, ha! I was just kidding!" Antonio laughed, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "She's just an ol' friend of good ol' Gilly over there, her name's Elizaveta," he continued, the other flipping the Spaniard the bird heatedly as he demanded for Antonio to never call him that. "Snuck onto our plane, we never really invited her."

"H-hey! I have all right to do whatever I can to meet _The United Nations_!" Elizaveta huffed, placing her hands on her hips and pouting before immediately snapping to attention. "Oh my God! I've always wanted to meet you guys~!" she then gushed excitedly, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "Matthew Williams! You're as cute as you are in the photos!"

"Wha—?"

"Francis Bonnefoy, you're like—a super awesome guitarist, not as awesome as Ludwig over there, but still!" she continued. "And you're so dashing!"

"Of course I am~"

"No Francis," Matthew swat the other on the arm as if he were disciplining a dog.

"Aww Kiku~! You're even cuter than Matthew! You totally need more attention(1)!" she continued. "Alfred, oh my God, you're like—drop dead sexy in the flesh and—hey!" Elizaveta stopped, furrowing her eyebrows as she inspected the group of four. She then tilted her head and tapped her cheek with an index finger. "Uh…where's your boyfriend Alfred?"

"HA!" Gilbert barked, a huge grin immediately stretching his lips as he pointed a finger at Alfred who turned slightly red.

"Oh but a sock in it Billshit!"

"Alfred!" Matthew scolded, smacking the American upside the head. "I told you that's not his last name—you should get it right sometime and…" he trailed off and pointed towards Ludwig who looked like he was going to murder the next thing that dare dishonor his last name. "…he doesn't like it…"

"Oh uh…heh, heh…sorry buddy," he waved a hand and laughed just as nervously. "Just joking around is all…that's what I thought your last name was at first and—okay I'm shutting up," Alfred cut himself off before he could continue.

"Oh hey dude, you're out of that wheelchair!" Gilbert pointed out, his enthusiasm clearly fake. "That's awesome 'cause it looked like it sucked big time," he continued, placing a hand on his hip, waiting for Matthew's response. The Canadian clearly felt awkward about it all and simply laughed nervously and let out a small agreement, not really knowing what else to say. "Ugh," his shoulders slumped. "You could've been a bit more enthusiastic than that…"

"Hey dude! It's obviously something Mattie doesn't like talking about," Alfred huffed, sticking out his tongue. "Artie's supposed to meet us here at around this time—"

"_Fucking frog get over here so I can pile drive your arse into the floor!"_

"Speak of the devil~" Alfred grinned and turned just as Arthur stopped right next to them.

"You're lucky I'm not allowed to bring certain things on a plane!" the Briton huffed. "Hello Alfred," he then greeted, switching immediately to a cheerful tone from his peeved, 'I'm going to kill that frog' tone. Yes, Francis got his own tone from Arthur. Lucky guy.

Arthur then turned to look back at Francis, his large eyebrows furrowed and soon enough, the two were arguing over something Alfred found no interest in. He decided to get in between the two and throw his arms around their shoulders, putting on a large grin. "Come on guys, why can't we all get along? Anyways, come on, we should be going back to the hotel," he pat the two on their shoulders before letting them go, the two muttering under their breaths.

As they walked out of the airport, Elizaveta watched both Alfred and Arthur with an expecting air. Alfred tried not to make it clear that he knew she was, but eventually he got uncomfortable under the Hungarian girl's gaze so he finally turned to look at her. "Uh…why're you looking at me like that?"

"Hm?" she snapped out of whatever reverie she was in before shaking her head. "Oh nothing~" she grinned, looking back in front of her, though never losing that expecting air, glancing through the corner of her eye at the two every now and then.

III

"I dunno, I think she was expecting me or us to do something," Alfred sighed, rolling onto his stomach on the bed they had in Madrid. He was dead tired, having been too excited to meet Arthur again to sleep on the plane ride to the European country. He closed his eyes and drifted into a half conscious haze. He vaguely registered that Arthur threw himself onto the bed and cuddled up next to him before snapping awake when he heard Francis scream, voice muffled from the door.

With a yawn, he propped himself up on his elbows just as Matthew could also be heard. "What's going on?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes. He didn't have to get an answer when Francis threw the door open, head covered in blue paint.

The now blue haired Frenchman held up a bucket with 'This is my declaration of war – Arthur' written on it. "What the hell is this?" Francis wailed angrily, throwing the bucket at Arthur, whatever amount of paint remaining flying out on its way across the room, Arthur easily catching it.

"Clearly it's a declaration of war," Arthur shrugged his shoulders bluntly, though was holding back a grin. Francis stuttered angrily and turned around with an overly dramatic huff before storming off, stomping his feet unnecessarily. Alfred blinked, his brain still registering what had happened before a large grin stretched at his lips.

"Dude, did you seriously just do that?" he snickered and Arthur nodded in a prideful way. "Ha! Totally, can we make an alliance then?" Alfred pushed himself up so that he was sitting upright. "We'd be amazing allies!"

"Uh, mostly because we're in a relationship."

"Anyone can be in a relationship! We're like—in a special one!" Alfred threw an arm around Arthur's shoulders, pulling him close and completely unaware of the reference he just made. "Ugh, come on—let's take a nap until lunchtime, I'm tired," Alfred then changed the subject, pulling Arthur back down onto the bed so that the Briton was straddling him. "You're so warm Iggy~"

"Hush up," Arthur huffed, leaning down so that their chests were touching, folding his arms in front of him so he could rest his chin on them. "You're just so cheesy sometimes."

"But it's fun," Alfred pouted, wrapping his arms around Arthur's shoulders. "And I don't think that one's cheesy," he continued, giving Arthur his infamous puppy-eyes. Arthur simply placed a hand over Alfred's eyes and the America grinned immediately, shoving Arthur's hand off of his face. He snaked a hand behind Arthur's head and pushed him down so that their lips met. "Now come on, I wanna sleep," Alfred said once they separated. He rolled onto his side, Arthur scooting off of Alfred before being pulling into another embrace.

After lunch, Arthur had decided to take a shower while Alfred went straight back to the bed to begin his snoozefest again. Alfred was about to fall asleep again when he heard Arthur swear which was followed by the sound of him slipping on the floor and falling. Alfred rolled off of bed and crawled over to the door of the bathroom, knocking on it. "Did the old man fall?"

"My hair's fucking _PINK!_" Arthur wailed, his voice cracking when he said the color, completely brushing aside Alfred's slight insult. Tilting his head, Alfred sat up straighter, having yet to get up on his own two feet. "And the frog did something to the floor—_DAMN IT_!" Arthur apparently slipped again.

After a moment Alfred finally decided to stand up. "Uh…are you okay?"

"Ugh, yes I'm fine…ouch."

"Can I come in?" Alfred asked, twisting the door knob only to find it locked.

"No, you may not come in—throw me some clothes," Arthur huffed. Alfred rolled his eyes, grabbed some clothes for the guitarist and threw them through the door that Arthur had opened a crack. He jumped back onto the bed just as Arthur walked out and Alfred's eyes basically bugged out of his head.

"Holy shit dude, your hair's _pink_!" Alfred pointed a finger at Arthur who rolled his eyes.

"Duh, I already told you that," the Briton huffed. "I'm going to get that damn frog," he continued, his voice slipping into a venomous seethe. He stormed out of his shared room with Alfred and headed for the one Francis shared with Matthew.

Arthur threw the door open much like Francis had not too many hours ago, walked right through the puddle of still wet blue paint at the door way, without knowing it, and smacked the still slightly blue haired Frenchman in the head, waking him. "What the bloody hell is this all about?" Arthur wailed, tugging at a lock of hair as he said that.

"What? It's _my_ declaration of war—sorry if I couldn't leave you a note, it would've given it all away," Francis shrugged his shoulders. "And thanks for the paint—it's not coming out mind you," Francis huffed moodily. "This better wash out before tomorrow's concerts."

"Same can go for me!" Arthur barked angrily. "This better not be permanent dye! Fuck, my feet are blue!"

"Don't worry, it's three shower's worth," Francis waved his hand in the air. "But this paint, I don't think will get out until we go to France," he continued irritably, tugging at his own hair.

Alfred perked up when Arthur returned, leaving blue footprints wherever he went whilst muttering angrily under his breath. Alfred sat up straight on his bed. "So, what'd he say?"

"We got ourselves stuck in a war with Francis and likely Matthew," Arthur huffed as he stormed back into the bathroom, announcing that he was going to shower until he got the dye out of his hair.

"How many showers did he say would get rid of it?" Alfred asked.

"Three," Arthur answered from inside the bathroom as he turned on the shower.

"That'll take a while," Alfred grinned and Arthur glared at him from over his shoulder before pulling his shirt off along with kicking the door shut. With a huff, Alfred rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't have anything to do and Arthur was likely going to be in there for an hour or two, so might as well take another nap.

Two hours of sleep didn't feel like much, so that was probably why it felt like it lasted ten minutes when Arthur stepped out, drying his hair with a towel. "At least I got most of the dye out…" Arthur muttered under his breath before looking at the digital clock on the nightstand. "Damn it, that took two hours…" he continued, voice quiet since Alfred still was basically asleep.

With a heavy sigh, the guitarist plopped onto the bed next to Alfred, the American slightly reacting to being jostled. Alfred opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows again. "Uwhasup?" he yawned. "Oh, you're hairs still kinda pink…"

"Yeah, there's this wonderful invention called a mirror," Arthur huffed and Alfred pulled him into a hug.

"You're moody," Alfred huffed.

"Well, I'm trying to come up with something to get back at Francis, but am coming up with nothing," Arthur grunted. Alfred fell into a thoughtful silence before grinning and rolling out of bed, telling the Brit to wait where he was. Arthur huffed at his loss of heat before rolling onto his stomach, resting his chin in his arms as he waited for the American to return from whatever he was doing.

Half an hour passed and Arthur was about to get up to search for Alfred when said American returned, snickering to himself as he threw himself onto the bed. "Dude, alright, snuck into Mattie's room, they're both sleeping right now and changed the contact names around a bit so that my name comes up as Francis's," Alfred snickered.

Arthur grinned. "At dinner?"

"At diner."

Francis was currently sitting with Antonio, Gilbert and Elizaveta, Matthew chatting with Kiku while Ludwig sat alone. Alfred and Arthur were clearly sitting together at a lone table, phone ducked under the tabletop so Matthew wouldn't suspect much from the get-go. They snickered as Alfred sent texts that he and Arthur both assumed sounded like Francis—sexual innuendos and a lot of talk about _amour_.

"No, no wait, let me do this first," Alfred grinned before stuffing a forkful of his food into his mouth. Arthur had a hand placed on Alfred's shoulder as he leaned on it to read the text on the screen, suggesting a few things here and there. "Ha, ha, this is gonna be awesome."

The two begin snickering once more. "Poor sap doesn't even know it's us," Alfred grinned. "We're so cruel—should I bust it to him?"

"Right now? Oh whatever, sure," Arthur shook his head, sitting up straight before putting on a unfazed façade so Alfred could bust the news to his Canadian half-brother. "Hey Mattie!" Alfred called. "Listen to this!" he cleared his throat. "'Francis, not now, we're having dinner with everyone," Matthew began to turn a dark shade of red, immediately recognizing what Alfred was reading.

"But if you insist," Alfred continued. "Bring anything kinky with you in your suitcase? I'm sure you did knowing you and how often you insist that we 'loosen up' or 'have fun'. But no handcuffs this time, that was torture. And—" Alfred cut himself off, snickering at what was texted next. "Mattie gosh, you were sexting with me!"

"W-well at least I glued you ass to you seat!" Matthew wailed, face a deep shade of red as everyone from both bands watched the two. Alfred's eyes basically bugged out of his head in terror and tried to stand only to find that it was difficult because—yes, in fact Matthew had 'glued his ass' to the seat.

"_SHIT_!"

III

"It's karma Al, don't brood over it too much," Arthur sighed as he watched Alfred sulk into his pillow. The American had been forced to remove both pants and boxers since the glue had seeped through his pants and glued his boxers down as well. Arthur had to make a mad dash for their room to grab some spares so Alfred didn't have to go himself once he was freed.

"They're outsmarting us Artie…" Alfred muttered as he brought his face up from the pillow, glasses set on the nightstand. Arthur was about to respond when his phone began ringing in his pocket. With a slightly irritated huff, he pried it out and flipped it open.

"What?" Arthur snapped. Alfred tilted his head slightly in confusion as he listened to the conversation unfold. Arthur was getting angrier by every sentence or word spoken, that was clear. He suddenly froze, a look of pure disbelief on his face. "No. You. Did. NOT," he ground out. "No mom I—no, I said no! Ugh!" he snapped his phone shut, having likely hung up on her. "Damn it!"

"What's up?" Alfred asked, sitting up along with looking a bit concerned.

"Mom sent Scott over to pick me up."

"Wha—she can't do that!" Alfred furrowed his eyebrows. "You just got here too!"

"I know, but that won't stop her from getting her 'baby' back. God, she's just…ugh. She just really doesn't like this. But she didn't really care about me back then—what gives her the right to suddenly care now?"

"I don't know," Alfred sighed. He then licked his lips, thinking over what he was going to say next. "Hey Arthur? Will you be here when we go to Germany?"

"I don't know. Why?" Arthur asked, looking questionably at Alfred's slightly defeated look.

The American grinned sheepishly in an attempt to make the mood a bit more lighthearted and itched at the back of his head. "Well…Ivan's tour overlaps with ours there and I just wanted to know if you could support me through it since Yao asked me if I could confront him personally on their relationship problem since me talking to him is probably better than Yao himself doing so…"

"But it's risky," Arthur deadpanned. "Do you even think he thought over this? He probably isn't even giving our relationship a second though."

"Last time I talked to you about this, you were a bit more supportive…" Alfred huffed and Arthur shook his head.

"I know, but this time it could interfere with our relationship and I don't want another party at Ludwig's scenario," Arthur remarked, making sure that he was stern with what he was saying. He then shook his head again. "But yeah, I'll try to be there," he got up and headed for the door. He twisted the doorknob only to have it stop short and was unable to open the door. Eyebrows twitching in irritation, Arthur tried the doorknob a few times, this time more harsh before letting out a loud, frustrated sound.

"Oh my God, Francis you bastard how in bloody hell did you lock us _in_?" Arthur wailed loudly, pounding on the door. "You asked for it!"

XXXX

**(1) Kiku needing more attention than Matthew – Lol. ****Just…lol.**

**Hola mi amigo! ****Como estas? – Hello my friend! How are you?**

** Mm, yup, I'm eating cottage cheese. Pure cottage cheese. Who would've thunk? It's really good actually too :3 Uh…I don't really have anything else to say other than that this is like, not fillerish, it still has a bit of plot development, though not much :P Oh well. Oh, I just realized that FF takes out the dashes I insert to separate scenes, so I'm replacing them with 'III'. Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;)**


	32. Chapter 32

** Doh.**

**XXXX**

"…Where the hell is our mattress?" Matthew asked as he and Francis stood at the door of their hotel room in Madrid Spain.

"More like how the hell did those two get out," Francis huffed, crossing his arms. "They were supposed to arrive late to rehearsal because of that," he continued as he approached what remained of the bed, that being the bed posts. "Ugh, dammit."

"Rehearsal? What do—oh! Damn it, Francis let's go! Antonio told me that we should get there at about eleven!" Matthew announced, grabbing ahold of the Frenchman's wrist in a slight hurry. "It's eleven thirty! _We _might be the ones late!"

III

"We got here at twelve at noon and we're not late," Francis remarked as he looked around the empty auditorium. Alfred, Arthur, Gilbert, Feliciano, Antonio and Lovino were currently present, Ludwig and Kiku being the only ones absent at the moment. "See~? We were fine all along," Francis grinned, throwing an arm around Matthew's shoulder. The Canadian huffed and blushed a bit at his overreaction back at the hotel and averted his gaze.

Much to their surprise, Alfred and Arthur weren't plotting against Francis and Matthew over in a corner—Alfred was currently whistling Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman to himself while Arthur argued with someone over the phone.

As they stepped up the small set of stairs that led up to the stage, Gilbert approached the two, a fake grin stretching his lips. "Sup Matthew?"

"Uh…hey," Matthew muttered nervously, stepping to the side in an attempt to avoid the rapper, heading straight to his drum set. Francis gave Gilbert a look that read 'if you try something, I'll murder you with a rusty fork' before heading over to the guitar stands where his guitar with the French flag on it rested. He picked it up and felt his eye twitch when he saw 'Kirkland was here' written on the pale neck in black Sharpie marker. He turned to yell at Arthur, but kept himself from doing so when he saw the British guitarist yelling heatedly into his cellular, a murderous look tainting his face.

"Dude, I'm sorry for trying to take you from Francis," Gilbert apologized almost desperately as he tried to get Matthew's attention by waving a hand in front of the Canadian drummer's face.

"Don't brood over it," Matthew supplied, still a tad nervous about having the rapper around him for some reason. He didn't know why he didn't want to interact with Gilbert—maybe it was because something in him told him that Gilbert was trying something or maybe it was because Gilbert was acting strange. The latter sounded very likely.

"No, I need to apologize appropriately," Gilbert remarked firmly, shaking his head in slight frustration.

"Who are you and what have you done with Gilbert?" Matthew deadpanned, furrowing his eyebrows a tad. Gilbert was clearly shocked, for it shut him up for the moment. Matthew continued to stare stonily up at Gilbert, getting into his Reasoning mode he had used on Gilbert in the past.

"I-I—w-what? Why?" Gilbert asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. The stare Matthew was giving him was starting to scare him—talk about firsts.

"The Gilbert I know won't let something so stupid worm itself into his head," Matthew started, settling into a more comfortable position on the stool. "He'd brush it aside and continue on with that hard head of his—kind of like Alfred," Gilbert huffed at being compared to the lead singer of _The United Nations_. "You're overthinking it Gilbert. It shouldn't bother someone like you that much, I've moved on, Francis has moved on despite how he acts, hell, even if he isn't involved, Alfred has moved on!"

Gilbert was taken aback at Matthew's words. Was the drummer saying he was the only one stuck in the past? Francis didn't seem like he was over it yet—he just gave him that scary look before he went over to Matthew just now! "But Francis—!"

"Francis is just being protective—he's learned from the past, not brooding over it," Matthew shook his head, a bit irritated at what Gilbert could've said if he didn't interrupt, but it was expected. "He just needs to learn to trust you and if you keep overthinking all of this, you'll only pull a muscle."

"Wha—?" Matthew was too smart for Gilbert. He'd admit it. God, Alfred and Francis were lucky guys.

"But I forgive you," Matthew smiled. It wasn't sympathetic or fake—it was a real, confident one that Gilbert had yet to receive from the drummer. "I'm not sure if I've told you that already and if not—I forgive you, and I accept your apology. I'm a big softie okay? I've forgiven you since…well, for a long time even before I sort of 'set you straight' at the end of my tour of America okay?"

"Hey Gilbort!" Alfred called, snickering at the distortion of Gilbert's name as he raised a hand high in the air and waved the rapper over. "Need ya over here!"

"So can you please stop making this so stressful?" Matthew asked and Gilbert's shoulders slumped, but he grinned nonetheless.

"I don't know how you do it—but yeah. I'll try to stop," Gilbert said and Matthew nodded his head with that confident grin still stuck to his face. He twirled his drumsticks in between his fingers before pointing one towards Alfred, reminding Gilbert that he had to go over to the singer.

Arthur paced back and forth on the front of the stage, the cellular he was talking on pressed against his ear in frustration. "No way in bloody hell am I going to listen to the likes of you! No, I said No—what the—!" he suddenly slipped off of the edge of the stage. "_FRANCIS!"_

"Gotta run~!"

Kiku entered the auditorium just as Arthur wailed Francis's name and the two ran off, Arthur looking like he was going to murder the French guitarist. Both bands watched the two members of _The United Nations_ run out of the area, Arthur's angry cries echoing slightly before completely fading out. "Uh…did I miss something important?"

"Francis greased the front of the stage," Matthew waved a drumstick in the air almost carelessly. "Stay clear of it if you don't want to slip."

Antonio grinned and looked at Lovino. "Ah, I love their energy~! Sometimes I wish we were as fun as they are…"

"Shut up bastard, they're not fun. They fucking retards," Lovino huffed, gripping his drumsticks tightly, looking over at Matthew as the Canadian began the drum beat to Do You Remember, one of the songs they were going to play. Sometimes Lovino couldn't help but be jealous of the Canadian who was, in his opinion, better than he was. Antonio had reassured the Italian cheerfully that he thought Lovino was better than Matthew.

"So are you ready for the collaboration?" Antonio grinned and Lovino huffed moodily.

"Do I look fucking stupid to you?"

"That's my Lovi~" Antonio grinned, pulling the other into a one armed hug as the drummer wailed about not wanting to be addressed by 'Lovi'.

Alfred soon remembered that he had called Gilbert over, having been briefly amused with Arthur and Francis's little shenanigans. "So, anything you want to go over for rehearsal or are you cool with everything?" he asked.

"Dude, I'm totally cool," Gilbert grinned, furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm always ready."

"Same! Well…not according to Artie, but I think I'm always ready for concerts," Alfred grinned. He then stood up. "I'm gonna go find those two by the way—we should get started with rehearsal," Gilbert nodded his head and watched the singer leave. With a sigh, the hung his head briefly before bringing it back up. _The United Nations _sometimes just seemed so complicated at times—one day they're all breaking up, another they're having a 'friendly' war against each other and another day, one of them gets hit by a car. Nothing really spectacular has happened to _To the West_ lately. Dare he say, _To the West_ was a middle aged man compared to _The United Nations _who could be considered a rambunctious teenager ready to prank the Royal Family of any country and be proud.

…Damn it, now Gilbert kind of wanted to be a part of Alfred's band.

Eventually, Alfred returned with both Arthur and Francis—Arthur covered in flour and Francis covered in red Kool-Aid powder. Matthew snickered to himself much like Alfred was doing as he led the two guitarists back into the auditorium. "Did you two seriously go into the rig set up for Artie and me?" Alfred asked, a huge grin stretching his lips.

"At least I got half of the job done…" Francis muttered under his breath as he picked at his hair, the red powder sticking to it. "Damn it, hopefully I can get all of this out before the concert…"

"Idiots," Gilbert snickered to Feliciano who was giggling to himself.

"I heard that!" Arthur barked, glaring at Gilbert who simply continued to snicker.

Ludwig walked in, not exactly expecting to see a flour covered Arthur and red powder covered Francis pouting to themselves. Arthur approached the front of the stage once more, intent on getting the mobile he had dropped when he fell before slipping once more on the greased floor, having forgotten that it was still slippery. With a loud curse, Arthur hit the ground, grabbed his phone and rushed up the stairs to tackle a snickering Francis to the ground, getting himself in the middle of a wrestling match with the Frenchman.

III

"Whew, I'm impressed with the crowd this collaboration has attracted," Gilbert grinned as he approached Alfred who tossed him a water bottle. Catching it, he then uncapped it and took a long drink before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Alright, I'm ready to continue my mission to take over Europe."

"Hah, me too," Alfred grinned. "Here, we'll be your rivals 'kay?" he continued and stuck out a hand. It took Gilbert a moment what Alfred was asking for before grinning himself and taking Alfred's hand, shaking it.

"Just remember that I had a boost during winter break."

"Yeah, well I was in London during winter break too, so don't forget that—they're crazy for us."

"Whoa, treaty going on here?" Francis asked as he seated himself in a chair across from Alfred's. The America let go of Gilberts hand and bent forward to grab another water bottle from a cooler and tossing it at the guitarist. "What's up?"

"_The United Nations _and _To the West_ are now officially rivals," Alfred grinned. "And _we _better take over Europe before they do," he continued confidently as Gilbert rolled his eyes.

Francis decided to do the same as the rapper. "We're doomed."

"Nonbeliever!"

The first song was Remember the Name. Gilbert did most of the song, Ludwig helping out a bit in the chorus just because he could. Feliciano did most of the string instruments that were heard in the song, Lovino at his side as well since he had a bit of experience with stringed instruments. Matthew smiled as he watched _To the West_ preform the rap, noting how it sounded so much like something Gilbert would choose.

They then followed up with Francis, Matthew being the one to sing the song while Kiku was on the keyboard. Matthew would look over at Francis every now and then, the French guitarist standing off to the side with Alfred and Arthur since the song only required a singer and pianist. Matthew enjoyed singing in French and took a mental note to compose a few more duets like Bonjour he could sing with Francis. The song clearly was much calmer than the previous performance _To the West_ had shown, but Matthew managed to captivate the crowd with a foreign language other than English.

The collaboration soon came into play when they sang A Dios le Pido. Since Alfred was bilingual, his second language being Spanish, he was able to learn this song quickly and sing it with Antonio. Most in the crowd seemed to recognize the song and a few even sang along. They way that Arthur opened the song too made Alfred grin widely and give his boyfriends a thumbs up, the Briton too preoccupied with strumming his guitar. Feliciano was the second guitar, standing right next to Arthur with a happy grin on his face as he played alongside the Brit. Alfred really liked the chorus to the song and grinned at Arthur just as the guitarist looked up at him. Arthur sent him a look that clearly read 'what the fuck is this song about?' and Alfred had to keep himself from laughing.

They followed up with Do You Remember and Alfred especially liked this song mainly because everyone had a vocal part in it. They all vocalized at the proper times, imitating the actual song. Gilbert would look over at Matthew every now and then but the Canadian never noticed, too busy with dancing next to Francis since Lovino was on the drums.

The final song was Lay Me Down. Francis opened the song, him being the main guitar, Lovino still on the drums. Gilbert did the verses, grinning toothily at the lyrics, Alfred would then sing the chorus. Francis was their backup of course and Alfred still couldn't shake the feeling of it being something he'd say often. When the part came by where Alfred sang 'Well you're my green eyed girl', he grinned over his shoulder at Arthur who was sitting atop one of the amplifiers. He only grinned wider when he sang 'Or take your shirt off' and Arthur went beet red.

The concert was ended and with an energetic 'thank you', Alfred turned to the rest of his band mates along with the band they were collaborating with. "Awesome job guys!" he pulled Arthur into a one armed hug. "Now Artie, we gotta take over Europe before they do," he pointed towards Gilbert and Ludwig who were talking with each other about something. Rolling his eyes, Arthur pulled out of Alfred's embrace.

"Yeah sure, hey guys, we have to clean up quick, we're leaving right away," he announced and most of the other band members agreed with him.

"You guys seriously help the cleanup crew?" Lovino questioned disbelievingly, eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh…yeah, why?" Alfred asked, furrowing his own eyebrows in confusion. "I don't really see why that's something to fuss about."

"You're the band, you're not supposed to help them, you can do whatever you want," he huffed before turning around to leave. "Come on Antonio, let's go."

"Why? I think cleaning up with these guys doesn't sound so bad, go on ahead, I'll help them out," Antonio grinned and Lovino made a disbelieving noise as Feliciano agreed with the Spanish guitarist along with Gilbert much to his own surprise. With a huff, he spun on his heel and ended up leaving the auditorium on his own, Ludwig even helping them out with cleanup.

III

Gilbert was right about _To the West_ being a middle aged man compared to _The United Nations_. He and his band mates were currently watching in slight disbelief as the members to _The United Nations_ goofed off with each other. They also wondered how they maintained such hectic lives and still manage to fit in some fun time.

"Hey, where's Lizzy?" Feliciano asked innocently, ducking down and unknowingly avoiding a songbook that had just been thrown by Arthur. "You'd think she would've done anything to see that concert."

"She was busy, but is going to meet us at the next location," Ludwig supplied and Feliciano smiled happily at the thought of seeing his friend again. They didn't know if Elizaveta considered Feliciano a friend, but they definitely knew the Italian thought of the Hungarian as a friend.

"Be gone foul beast!" Alfred laughed loudly as he threw a pen at Francis who avoided it easily by ducking down. "I have nuked your land! America bitches!"

"Fuck America!" Francis shot back, throwing the 'nuke' back at Alfred, getting the other on one of his raised arms. "France is clearly superior!"

"French language for the win!" Matthew announced, a wide grin spreading at his lips.

"Ha! Too bad you have to learn your 'precious' French language second then!" Alfred laughed. "English dominates! It's the business language or whatever the hell it is!" he continued only to be tackled down by Matthew, Antonio and Gilbert having to lift their feet off of the ground to let the two half-brothers wrestle on the ground. "America's the biggest superpower the world has ever seen!"

"You better thank England for that!" Arthur butt in from his spot. "I'm sure if France would've gotten that land, you would've gone downhill knowing who the French are!"

"Shut up!" both Francis and Matthew barked, though the latter was currently busy with wrestling with Alfred on the floor of the bus—so it was Francis who pushed the other down and sat atop the British guitarist.

"Get off of me—God you're heavy!" Arthur grunted as he attempted to shove the French guitarist off of him, but to no avail.

"I refuse!" Francis laughed loudly. _To the West_ still couldn't believe what they were seeing.

III

Elizaveta watched the two bands from a front row seat, Antonio having been nice enough to reserve one for her. Gilbert completely ignored her, Ludwig said he didn't really want anyone to think he liked her, Lovino was…Lovino and Feliciano obviously had no idea how to do such a thing. Much like now the band members of _To the West_ had, she wondered how _The United Nations _could lead such a hectic schedule and yet still act like the teenagers they were.

She giggled as she watched Francis run around with Arthur's nice navy blue, Union Jack guitar, a Sharpie marker gripped tightly in his hand as he tried to write on the neck of the guitar as he ran from the fuming Brit. "Don't you _dare_ drop my guitar Francis! That thing is expensive and—_are you WRITING on it?_" Arthur roared. It was clear that the Briton didn't want it damaged mainly because Alfred was the one who bought it for him.

Once Francis finally gave the guitar back to Arthur who clocked him in the head, Arthur slunk back over to the guitar stand, reading the 'Bonnefoy was here' written sloppily on the neck of his guitar. He sulked briefly before bouncing back full force and ran after Francis, the two running out of the auditorium once more.

"Those two…" Matthew shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder," he didn't know how to finish that sentence.

Once the two returned on their own accord, Alfred luckily not having to get up and go after them, they rehearsed for a good hour before people began filtering into the auditorium at a steady pace before slowing down. Then eventually they got the second concert started.

The first song was Pictures of You, Kiku opening the song with the keyboard. Alfred and Antonio were lead while Feliciano played guitar and Lovino was on the drums. Elizaveta had a dreamy look in her eyes as she watched the two sing the song, Antonio glancing back at Lovino every now and then, Alfred doing the same, but at Arthur who would wave and smile briefly.

They followed up with Te Tengo Aquí, another Spanish song that Alfred and Antonio sang together. This time Arthur was the lead guitarist while Francis was the second, the two sending each other grudging looks whenever they caught glances of the words written in Sharpie on the necks to their guitars. Alfred liked the slightly suave tone to the song every now and then and noticed how much he'd look back at Arthur. He also noticed how that Elizaveta girl won't stop looking at him.

The third song was none other than Bonjour, Matthew and Francis's rather humorous duet. In the beginning Francis had a flirty exterior, walking around Matthew who grinned at his French boyfriend. It was then followed up with Matthew rejecting Francis's offer and it continued like that before Matthew eventually accepted Francis's offer—in French obviously. Matthew got to throw a few snobby comments around without anyone but Francis noticing. At the very end, Alfred would jump in and say a phrase in Spanish and the two would start yelling at him in French to 'get out of the recording room'. _To the West_ clearly found it amusing.

Then they followed up not with a song, but, quoted by Alfred, a 'guitar-off'. Francis and Arthur against Feliciano and Antonio, not Ludwig just to be fair. The two members of each band would alternate, the riffs they played becoming trickier and even more complicated as they went. When Feliciano fumbled on one of the riffs that was pretty far into the 'guitar-off', those on _The United Natinos's _side cheered loudly. Francis was the last one remaining much to Alfred's surprise.

Arthur immediately followed up the 'guitar-off' with Cliffs of Dover, Matthew settling into the stool at his drum set. Alfred couldn't help but cheer Arthur on, pumping a fist into the air excitedly. Arthur still glared down at the 'Bonnefoy was here' that taunted him on the neck of his guitar.

Then Ludwig basically made Arthur's performance seem like the simplicity of playing Smoke on the Water by following up with Eruption. Arthur muttered 'show-off' under his breath as he set his navy blue guitar on a guitar stand next to Francis's guitar.

When Ludwig ended the guitar solo, the crowd cheered loudly and Alfred grinned, tugging Arthur into a one armed hug. "Don't worry Artie, I still think you were awesome~" he grinned and Arthur rolled his eyes. "Awesome job Ludwig! That was so amazingly epic!" for some reason, Arthur felt inferior to Ludwig now—Francis looked like he was feeling the same thing as he stared at his guitar as he unplugged it.

After the Meet and Greet and quite a bit of autograph signing, they eventually found themselves cleaning up. Elizaveta continued to pester Alfred about this and that, but you couldn't really call it pester with how happy he seemed to be as he talked with the Hungarian yaoi fangirl.

They all looked over when they heard someone clapping. "Eh, didn't know you were that good little brother," the young man grinned and Arthur furrowed his large eyebrows at his older sibling.

"Don't exactly remember you caring at all," he muttered and continued to pack up his guitar, choosing to ignore his older brother. Francis glanced at Scott and hummed, noting that the other had gotten a bit taller than last time he saw him.

"Well, it's about time to stop playing 'rock star' and come home," Scott changed the subject, approaching his younger sibling.

"Hey, you can't tell Arthur what to do," Alfred remarked firmly, stepping in front of Scott, taking a mental note that Scott was taller than he was. "How about you go home?"

"Ah, is this Alfred?" Scott grinned, pointing a thumb down at Alfred. "The guy that shagged you over winter break?"

"Put a sock in it Scott," Arthur demanded, remaining apathetic despite the fact that Scott had just announced that he and Alfred had had sex over winter break. He wasn't sure how his Scottish sibling got ahold of that information, but didn't want to show too much that it affected him.

"Oh, I'm assuming that's a yes," Scott shrugged his shoulders. "M'kay, enough 'hero' play, Al, move aside, Arthur here has to study for next school year—last summer messed him up a bit with your dumb tour of America."

"And when was the last time you cared about my grades?" Arthur hissed, narrowing his eyes at his sibling who shrugged his shoulders and stepped around Alfred who seemed to not know what to do, for he sent Arthur a questioning gaze.

"Hey you, bastard!" Lovino bit. "Nobody gave you permission to come say fucking 'hi' to us anyways," he continued sourly as he stepped forward. Scott groaned and looked at the smaller Italian who surprisingly stood his ground.

"Ugh, come on, let's just go before we have a huge argument or something—mom needs you back home."

"Mom never needed me back home," Arthur muttered.

"Peter misses you," Scott tried again. Arthur couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or lying to him. Both were very likely—Scott was probably lying, but then again, Peter probably missed him. Alfred was looking at Arthur as if the British guitarist was going to betray him at any given moment and Arthur found himself not knowing what to do.

Maybe he should have someone else make the decision for him…But then again, he might not be happy with it. Clearly most of them wanted him to stay, so they outweighed the going home option. Arthur was over thinking things.

"Come on man," Arthur looked from his spot on the ground to see Scott holding a hand out, waiting for him to take hold of it. He swore he saw the old brother he used to have back when he was young—before Scott started getting involved with drugs, alcohol and smoking. Licking his lips, Arthur's fingers twitched, but refused to move any further.

"Back off dude," Gilbert snapped. "Give the guy some damn thinking space, I wouldn't be surprised if your disgusting stench is keeping him from thinking straight—I can smell you all the way over here," he continued, waving a hand in front of his face whilst sticking out his tongue through his teeth in a taunting way.

"Oh, I'd like to hear you say that again."

"Hell yeah!" Gilbert grinned, puffing his chest out. He was dead nervous though—this guy looked like he could hold his own ground against even Ludwig. "You smell so bad man, I doubt he's even able to thi—!" Gilbert's head snapped to the side when Scott swung his fist at the other's head. The rapper stumbled back and fell on the floor. Ludwig seemed to have been operated by a power switch with how quickly he jumped into action—and even though it all resulted in violence…

…Arthur was glad he had these people who cared about him…

XXXX

**Do You Remember by Jay Sean**

**Remember the Name by Fort Minor**

**Francis by Coeur de Pirate**

**A Dios le Pido by Juanes**

**Lay Me Down by The Dirty Heads**

**Pictures of You by The Last Goodnight**

**Te Tengo Aquí by Marc Anthony**

**Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson (Studio version guys. Studio version ;D)**

**Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple**

**Eruption by Van Halen (There's no special sound effects in it—it's pure guitar believe it or not –other than that one drum part, but that's brief-)**

**Turns out everyone really like last chapter no? Ha, ha, it was good to hear from all of you, really :3**

**Am up too late :P Should've gone to sleep half an hour ago but bleh, this was too fun to type and I didn't want to update this tomorrow since then I'd feel laggy or whatever. I'd lag like an old computer XD I don't even know what I'm talking about now, I'm serious. **

**Nuu, senate's voting on the SOPA/PIPA stuff tomorrow and for some reason, I'm super nervous. I dun wanna lose yoo guys TT^TT That'll suck…so yeah, hopefully it doesn't pass—if it does (which I doubt, but still am worried about) well…I don't know what to say.**

**So yeah, please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :D**


	33. Chapter 33

** Man, I am really running out of things to say in author notes. I don't want to not write them because then it might feel like it isn't really a person writing this fic…well that's how I feel when there's no author notes in stories, I feel like I'm reading something created by a computer since there's nothing to show the character of the author…sort of like monotone…apathetic…stuff. So yeah, not that I'm trying to offend anyone, it just feels empty without an author's note :)**

**XXXX**

The door creaked open before being clicked shut quietly as Alfred entered the hotel room he shared with Arthur. Ever since they had gotten into that brawl with Scott, Arthur had been silent and thoughtful for hours on end. Alfred frowned in concern slightly when he found that Arthur had yet to get out of bed and he approached it, setting a plate of Torrijas on the nightstand on his way.

He crawled into bed next to Arthur and wrapped his arms around the guitarist's waist, hugging him close. "Are you okay Artie? You haven't gotten out of bed yet as I can see."

Arthur's reply was a low hum and nothing else followed after that. With a sigh, Alfred squeezed Arthur briefly, nuzzling the back of his head. "C'mon man, everyone's okay, you don't need to worry about it anymore…"

Once Ludwig had charged at Scott the second Arthur's sibling had lashed out at his rapper of a brother, Alfred, Lovino and even Francis went in as well when Ludwig began struggling against the taller. Gilbert had eventually recovered and jumped into the fight. Scott had surprisingly been able to hold his own ground against all five of them, getting Francis pretty good which could've given Matthew a heart attack. It was intense, yes, but luckily not enough to send anyone to the hospital.

"It's just a couple of bruises, see?" Alfred tried to reassure, patting Arthur's stomach. Arthur didn't respond this time and Alfred sighed.

_ Ludwig threw a fist forward and got Scott good on the side of his face, sending Arthur's older sibling back—though he had easily shaken it off and charged at Ludwig. Scott was known for being violence and using physical abuse as a method of showing that he was above one. Ludwig tripped on some of the wires that ran across the stage and stumbled. The redhead was about to strike the German guitarist when Alfred jumped in from behind, grabbing the back of his head by his short hair and pulling it back and kicking a foot out onto the back of Scott's heels. The Scottish young man though, turned as he fell and brought Alfred down with him, managing to cushion his fall with Alfred's head. The only thing Alfred could remember from that was 'ouch'. _

_ Francis ran up along with Lovino who was steaming, an excited grin stretching his lips at the thought of being able to fight. Francis wasn't known for his physical skills, so he was easily flipped over Scott who had stood up. The French guitarist fell on the floor below the stage, knocking the back of his head, likely knocking him out briefly since he didn't move after that. Scott jumped down and picked the blond up, his eyes still open with how quickly he was knocked unconscious._

_ Alfred, really pissed that this guy dared to walk in and boss Arthur around and then beat his friend who was clearly incapable of defending himself at the moment, jumped off stage and brought Scott to the ground with him. _

_ Gilbert stood up, rubbing the side of his cheeks and a venomous look coming from his red eyes. Matthew watched, heart beating quickly as Gilbert jumped over the edge of the stage as well along with Lovino and Ludwig. The brawl soon moved back to the stage, Gilbert with a bloody nose and a busted lip, Alfred with a large bruise on his ribs (though you couldn't see it at the moment), Ludwig with a forming black eye that will obviously need a little makeup if he were to perform in two days and look normal, Lovino with bruised wrists and a bloody lip and Francis, who had regained consciousness quickly, a swelling bruise on his head and a pretty visible limp._

_ Antonio had jumped in Lovino's way, restraining him by the arms, nobody really able to remember what he had yelled at Lovino. All Matthew knew was that what Antonio had said, surprisingly, brought a bit of sense into the small Italian who slightly calmed, but looked ready to jump into action any moment once more. _

_ Gilbert was currently pinned to the ground, looking extremely pissed that he let that happen and was currently trying to kick Scott where it hurt. Alfred was knelt over by one of the amplifiers, wiping blood from his mouth and searching for his glasses which likely have been lost off stage—hopefully unharmed. Scott brought a fist back, getting ready to punch Gilbert until the guy's head was probably busted open when Francis tackled Scott from the side. _

_ The two struggled, Scott clearly having the upper hand over Francis with being more muscular, taller and having more experience with fighting. Unbeknownst to them, excluding Arthur, Scott would get into fights almost daily, being a part of a gang that hung around London. Scott caught one of Francis's wrists and twisted it behind the other's back in a fancy maneuver before throwing the French teen onto the ground, a foot placed on the side of his head in a threatening gesture. _

_ "Hell no! Back off bastard!" Gilbert barked, surprising most of them and running after at the two that were currently stationary. Scott quickly brought an arm back, hand balled into a tight fist before bringing it forward and clocking Gilbert pretty good in the face, sending the rapper onto his back. Antonio looked at Matthew who was probably crying before looking at Arthur who was staring intently at the ground he was sitting on, a distant look on his face and hands balled into fists. Looking over to his right, Antonio saw that Elizaveta wasn't there, having likely ran off to find help._

_ Scott bend down and picked Francis up, the guitarist glaring the best he could directly into the Scottish young man's eyes. The ginger said something, but nobody caught it—Francis did though and his expression briefly contorted into that of fear before he was beaten roughly. Matthew stepped forward, but was too scared to move any further, too afraid as tears rolled down his eyes. _

_ Luckily Ludwig interfered with any further physical harm Scott would've caused Francis, swinging his guitar at the Scottish young man, hands tightly gripping the neck of the guitar, the body of the instrument swinging in an arc. It got Scott good in the ribs and Antonio grinned because that clearly would leave a mark. Ludwig unfortunately, damaged his guitar to the point of no return in the midst of the brawl—but he couldn't bring himself to care. _

Someone knocked on the door and Alfred opened his eyes. Just remembering the fight that had erupted yesterday made his heart race. Rolling off of bed, Alfred stretched and headed over to the door, wondering if it was Matthew or Francis or maybe even Kiku. He opened the door, eyebrows rising in curiosity when he saw a crying Feliciano at their door. "Oh, hey Feli…what's up? You don't look good…" duh. That was a bright observation.

Feliciano sniffed, slunk into the room and seated himself in a chair before answering. "Ludwig likes Lovi more than useless me…"

"Wha—? You're not useless man! You can play so many instruments I don't know what they'd do without ya!" Alfred tried to reassure the small Italian, not exactly understanding what he was trying to tell him in the first place. "I-I mean, okay, what's wrong? Can you clarify for me?" he asked, seating himself in the chair next to the one Feliciano was seated in.

"I-I saw Ludwig with Lovi…" was all Feliciano provided for the American, but he wasn't that dumb—Alfred could connect the dots.

"What?" Alfred asked, eyes widening in surprise. "Aren't those Antonio and Lovino guys in a relationship or something? And are you in something with Ludwig?"

"…No…" Feliciano muttered quietly.

"Ah, that can be a problem with all of this—now listen, I ain't no Mattie, but I'll tell you what I can," Alfred smiled sympathetically as he leant back in his seat. "First thing's first, you won't go anywhere if you don't tell Ludwig you like him…if that's what you're trying to imply."

"Yeah…but it's too scary, I could never tell him that. Besides, Lovino and I look so alike…"

"Love isn't all about looks Feliciano!" Alfred started. "…That _is_ your name right? Okay, yeah, love isn't about looks, it's like—the feelings, damn I really think I should get Mattie for this," he shook his head, placing a hand on his forehead and not liking one bit how cheesy he'll sound if he continued. "It's about your feelings and personality, liking someone for their looks is just having the hots for 'em okay? Uh…" a mental image of Ivan popped into Alfred's head and he hung his head in slight embarrassment. Feliciano swore he could see a storm cloud raining over the American and was about to question him when he bounced back. "And having the hots for someone isn't love."

"And plus, the five of us just got our asses handed to us by that Scott guy, how can you be positive that Ludwig and Lovino were doing something romantic?"

"I…don't know," Feliciano started to feel shameful for jumping to conclusions.

"Come on, let's go talk with him right now," Alfred announced and Feliciano turned a dark shade of red.

"N-no! I-I'm fine with how things are, honest!" his words came out pretty quickly. "L-let's just stay in here and watch TV…"

"Naw! Come on man, you gotta face your fears! You aren't going to get anywhere without doing so! I mean, I wouldn't have gotten all of these battle scars if I didn't stand up to Scott—Ludwig wouldn't have lost his guitar if he didn't stand up to Scott, but if we all didn't I don't think Artie would still be here—so come on! You're not going to get your ass handed to you on a silver platter, promise."

Feliciano still tried to convince Alfred that they didn't need to go talk to Ludwig and eventually the American was forced to drag the panicking Italian out of his shared room, laughing loudly and confidently while Feliciano stuttered like a lovesick schoolgirl (which he probably was).

Arthur peeked over his shoulder with exhausted eyes and smiled as the two left without closing the door.

III

Antonio and Gilbert were both walking down the hallway with plates of Torrijas in their hands, Gilbert stuffing the French Toast like breakfast food into his mouth. "But really, that guy was a real bastard, he deserved to get his ass whooped," Gilbert huffed, swallowing his food. "God, I wonder where that smelly piece of shit ran off to…"

"Hey, you guys didn't look any better than him—I don't even think you got a good hit on him other than that good one Ludwig did, unfortunately we're going to have to find him a new guitar quick if he is to play tomorrow night," Antonio pointed out and Gilbert frowned at the Spanish guitarist.

"Dude, you're such a killjoy, why can't you just pretend that we didn't get our asses kicked badly?"

"Whatever," Antonio shrugged his shoulders before grinning genuinely at Gilbert. "Anyways, I still thought it was pretty cool you kept Francis from landing in the hospital."

"Shut up—I'm _not_ going soft."

"Oh come on, the guy you're crushing on chooses him over you and you still defend Francis," Antonio nudged Gilbert in the arm and the rapper flinched, for a fresh bruise was where Antonio was poking him. "Oh sorry."

The two perked up when they heard Alfred and Feliciano's little struggle, Alfred dragging the Italian down the hall. "No! No, no, no I'm not goiinngg!" Feliciano wailed, the look of pure fright shining in his brown eyes.

"Yes you are mister!" Alfred grinned. "You're going to tell him and you won't regret it!"

"Then what if I _do_?"

"Well you have all right to send all of your friends after me in revenge! The hero never dies though, so don't worry! Ha, ha!"

"What in fucking hell are you two bitching about?" Gilbert asked, furrowing his eyebrows at stupid and stupider. Apparently stupid was going to make stupider say something to someone and stupider clearly objected.

"Oh, Feli here thinks he saw Ludwig cheating with Lovino—I clearly say no, so I'm going to go prove it to him and then make him confess—shit like that," Alfred explained almost carelessly as he passed the two, Feliciano sending them a look that clearly read 'help me right now or I'll never be your bestest friend in the whole wide world ever again'. Antonio stiffened while Gilbert simply cocked an eyebrow.

"Well!" Gilbert sighed once Alfred and Feliciano turned a corner. "I have nothing to say about that, don't overthink it Antonio, you'll only end up depressed like I was—see ya!" he stuffed the rest of his Torrijas into his mouth before putting his plate under a random door and bounding off. What a rude guy don't you think?

"I'll try not to…" Antonio muttered, shoulders slumping as he continued walking to the room he shared with Lovino—hoping that the Italian was there.

III

Arthur tiredly flipped his phone open when it began ringing, checking the caller ID and grimacing at the name. Despite clearly not liking who was calling him, he pressed the call button anyways and pressed the mobile to his ear. "What do you want?"

"Come on dammit, we have to go home right now—don't make me come over and beat the shit out of your pussy friends again, 'cause I gladly will. That French guy you used to be friends with? I don't know his name, but I'll make sure this time I'll finish him off and that damn rapper who called me smelly will fucking pay damn it. So if you don't meet me somewhere _right now_, I'm coming for ya," Scott's reply was clearly a threat.

Arthur couldn't really bring himself to care at the moment. His mind couldn't really take in any more negative things at the moment. "Uh Scott, you're being kind of a bastard, call back when you're—"

"_Shut the fucking hell up you little piece of shit! God! _Do you listen to _anybody?_ Not listening to your older brother is bad, but I'm speaking for your _damn parents! _I'm coming over whether you want me to or not now you damn runt," and he hung up. Arthur listened to the beeping of his phone before snapping it shut, throwing it in a random direction and tugging the blanket over his head.

"Are you okay?" Arthur poked his head out from under the blankets and blinked at the sight of Francis at the door. The guy had quite a few visible bruises and bandages, but looked like he wasn't even feeling it.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, Matthew went off to get breakfast and I'm not really hungry so I came here," Francis shrugged his shoulders, looking over at the untouched plate of Torrijas. "So are you okay?"

"I think it should be me asking you that question Francis," Arthur sighed, throwing the blankets off of his body and sitting up, crossing his legs in the process.

"Just a bit sore and my leg hurts a little, but that's basically it," Francis said as he entered the room, seating himself in one of the chairs Alfred and Feliciano were sitting in not too long ago. "You look a bit pale though."

"I'm just over thinking things," Arthur answered, staring down at his feet. The two looked over to the door when Gilbert strolled in, looking like he could take on the world despite the huge bruise that presented itself on his cheek.

"Have no one to talk to, so don't question me," he grinned. Francis simply rolled his eyes while Arthur remained unresponsive. "Dude, you totally got your ass whooped, how're you doing."

"Didn't know you had a heart," Francis joked and Gilbert stuck his tongue out.

"Shut up Frenchie," Gilbert huffed as he seated himself heavily in the chair next to Francis. "So! Apparently there's trouble in between Feliciano and Ludwig," he decided to announce, clearly not regarding Feliciano and Ludwig's privacy.

"Oh? What's the problem?" Francis asked, a bit interested. Arthur remained silent, still staring down at his feet.

"I dunno, something about Lovino maybe cheating on Antonio with my bro," Gilbert shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess we should go check on Antonio then, does he know?"

"Has a vague idea about it," Gilbert shrugged his shoulder again. "Hey eyebrows, wanna come with us?" he then asked, looking at Arthur. After a moment of no response, he tried again, "Hey. Yoo-hoo, earth to whatever your name is. Gah, whatever, he's clearly in la-la land or whatever the hell you wanna call it—come on Frenchie, let's go see Antonio," Gilbert stood up along with Francis and the two left.

III

Gilbert took the honors of knocking on the door loudly until his Spanish friend answered it with a troubled look on his face. "Oh…_hola amigos_, what brings you here?" he asked, voice having become suddenly tired compared to earlier.

"Dude, you better cheer up before you start acting like eyebrows back there," Gilbert huffed, barging his way past Antonio and into the room. "Now come on guys! We can't be so depressed now! I just got rid of that and now you're all going to go emo on me? Not cool…"

"I'm not—" Francis started but was interrupted.

"God, we all might have to see some epic therapist! Maybe Matthew with how good he is with slapping sense into you without having to _actually_ slap you—hey! Let's go do some fun stuff! I'm really bored right now…" he continued to blabber on and on.

Francis and Antonio simply looked at each other with expressions that read 'don't ask me, I have no idea who this guy is'—the ones that you use when someone's embarrassing you and you don't want other people to know that you're hanging out with them. Sometimes Francis felt that when he was with Alfred.

"Dudes, I got some ideas!" Gilbert grinned. "And we should totally give ourselves an epic name! It has to have trio in it though."

III

Arthur had finally decided to leave his room, but unfortunately, Francis joined him not too long after. He really wasn't doing anything, so he settled with just strolling around the hotel, the French guitarist walking literally right next to him. He probably had glue stuck to his right side and decided that he'd glue himself to Arthur with how long this has been going on. "What in bloody hell are you doing?"

"I'm stalking you."

"Well clearly you're not doing a good job."

III

Matthew swore, those Torrijas everyone was eating was probably getting them high or something with how both Antonio and Gilbert were coming up with the worst of pickup lines. He wasn't sure about what was going on, and was starting to hope that it actually was the Torrijas and not Gilbert and Antonio willingly trying to get him in bed with them.

"Do you like math? Well, let's add a bed, subtract our clothes, divide your legs and multiply~" Gilbert grinned, Antonio clearly holding back snickers before waving a hand in the air, showing Matthew the fancy wrist watch on it that he had just recently bought since he wanted something made in Spain, not China.

"My magic wrist watch says you're not wearing underwear~"

"Uh…I am you ditz…" Matthew muttered, face going beet red at how horrible and suggestive their pickup lines were.

"What? Shit, it must be fifteen minutes fast…"

Gilbert snickered at what he was going to say next. "I'm not Fred Flintstone, but I can make your bedrock!" oh God that was bad…

"I'm from the FBI, Fine Body Inspectors, I'm going to have to ask you to assume the position."

"Someone save me…" the drummer muttered, hanging his head in defeat—he was trapped in between two, what Arthur would call them—gits.

"What has one hundred and forty eight, and holds back the Incredible Hulk?" Oh God, he'd heard this one…it was…"My zipper!" Gilbert burst out laughing along with Antonio just as Arthur walked in. Matthew was about to wail about the guitarist being his savior, but kept himself from doing so when he saw Francis pressed up against Arthur's side.

"Get him off of me," Arthur deadpanned. Francis grinned toothily and waved at his two friends who were still laughing so hard that they were starting to tear up.

"Get off of him Francis…" Matthew muttered. These three were probably up to something with how fine Francis was with the two breathing down both sides of Matthew's neck. He looked at his boyfriend in a pleading way, but simply received a wink from the other wavy haired blond.

"What the hell are you three doing anyways?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms moodily. "It's clearly nothing spontaneous—you probably planned it or something…"

"Dude, it's called being bored. Haven't you ever had to deal with Alfred being bored? He seems like the kind of guy that would do crazy shit when he's bored," Gilbert shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure if he did, but Francis over here was bored _with_ Alfred and vandalized the city of London…"

"Oh dude seriously?" Gilbert's eyes went wide before throwing an arm around Francis's shoulder. "Dude, you're totally cool now!" he grinned toothily. "We should do that before we leave this place…"

"No way are you vandalizing Madrid!" Antonio defended, pointing an accusing finger at the two who snickered alongside each other.

"Oh and…" Arthur thought over continuing with what he was going to say next, not exactly wanting to kill these guys' fun. "Scott's coming over again…"

Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows at the revelation. "Didn't that guy learn not to mess with us?" he questioned and Arthur sent him a confused look, not exactly understanding why he said that since it was them that basically lost that fight.

"Ugh, apparently not…" Francis grimaced at the probability of him getting beaten by Scott again. He unconsciously rubbed one of his bruised wrists and Matthew hugged him.

"Don't worry buddy," Antonio started, throwing an arm around Arthur's shoulder. "We'll stand right next to ya."

Arthur smiled. "Thank you."

XXXX

**Ouch, my stomach hurts D: Hm—to be truthful, I really have nothing to say after all of that :P So bleh, please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;D**

**Fun Fact: I'm wearing a Union Jack wristband right now :3**


	34. Chapter 34

** Lol, sorry for the delay—I just can't bring myself to write on weekends. Man, it's going to be so hard supporting a future story over summer break because I'm positive this won't last **_**that**_** long O_O That'd be one long story. Man, I just got this kick ass, shnazzy notebook with the Eiffel Tower on it and I'm like 8D (I'm going through a France phase guys, so bear with me :P). Oh man, I'm reading a book called Kindred by Octavia E. Butler for school and it actually sounds really good. I have it right next to me and I'm supposed to start reading it right now, but I wanna write this chapter out before it gets too late :3 So yup. Nothing else to say after all of that. Enjoy~**

**XXXX**

_June 14_

_Madrid, Spain_

_ That bastard took Artie away just two hours ago. We got into another fight too and got our asses whooped…again. Frenchie's in the hospital with a broken arm…damn that's NOT good giving that he's our last guitarist. Kiku ran like a deer…wuss. Mattie went all Canada Rage Mode(1) on Scott when he broke Frenchie's arm too. I just got a few more bruises is all, no biggie…Ludwig and Gilbert ended up with a few more bruises too with me, ha, ha, Gilbert did this awesome judo flip or something, but it backfired on him. Ugh, if I wasn't so upset about Artie being gone and shit, I'd be making fun of Francis for how freaking scared he looked when he was fighting against Scott. But then again, I shouldn't be saying that, that Scott guy was pretty damn scary this time. Lovino got a pretty bad black eye and Antonio's out cold right now._

_ God, we're supposed to have a concert today aren't we? Damn, might have to cancel it and that doesn't sound good. I really don't want to disappoint anyone, but I guess it's for the best. And I think we're gonna stay in Spain for a few more days than expected so yeah, everything's gonna be bumped back a few days I guess. I just realized that I've been writing better lately…I really wish Arthur could see this, I think he'd be happy to see that I'm writing properly –Smiley face drawn here- I hope Artie does some crazy MI6 shit and gets away from Scott, but what are the odds of that (giving how freaking scary Scott is and stuff)?_

…

_And I think the MI6 are spies, not what I'm thinking…_

_ Dammit, ugh, I'm gonna go see Frenchie right now, he's supposed to be discharged tomorrow right? Who am I asking? Whatever. That's all for now._

_-Half-finished anime style drawing of The United Nations drawn here-_

Alfred entered the hospital Francis had been brought into in Madrid, donning a hat and sunglasses. Hopefully nobody would recognize him—he really didn't feel like dealing with people at the moment. Alfred stopped at the desk and tugged the sunglasses off briefly. "Alfred F. Jones, here to see Francis Bonnefoy."

She hesitantly nodded her head, having all right to suspect that he wasn't Alfred F. Jones because knowing some fans, they'd do anything to see their favorite musician. Standing up, she nodded for the American to follow.

"Sup Frenchie," Alfred greeted casually, taking off the hat and tossing it aside like a Frisbee once he entered the room. Matthew turned to look over his shoulder at his half-brother and smiled faintly at him, scooting his chair over unconsciously. "How's the arm?"

"Busted," Francis huffed. "Totally busted, can't move it."

Alfred seated himself in the chair next to Matthew with a loud exhale. "You okay?"

"Who me?" Alfred questioned, pointing a finger at his chest. "Uh, no, I'm not okay, but hopefully I'll feel better later…" he trailed off and Matthew hummed before pulling his half-brother into a one armed hug. "Man…I hope he's okay with how whacked up in the head that guy is…"

"I'm sure Arthur's fine, Scott won't touch him."

"Ugh, I seriously doubt that," Alfred huffed, resting his head in his hands. "Dammit, I really wish I could've done a better job—that guy really beat us up.

"If you keep this up, I'll have to kick you two out," Francis muttered, moodily glancing at the two. Alfred muttered and glanced down at the floor as Matthew pat the other on the shoulder with his free hand.

"Oh hey!" Alfred perked up, a look of concern on his face. "Uh…since you broke your arm and Artie's gone, what're we gonna do for the rest of the tour assuming that Arthur isn't going to come back?" man, Alfred really hoped that that wasn't the case.

"Oh God, don't remind me," Francis groaned, facepalming with his good arm. "I really don't want to think about that," he continued, side glancing at the two slightly look-alikes—Matthew's started to get his own individual look compared to Alfred these past few weeks. Either that or it was just him.

"What do we do now then?" Matthew asked as Francis shook his head in reply. After a moment, both of their gazes shifted gradually towards Alfred who was now staring at them blankly.

It took him a moment to catch on to what their stares were implying. "Oh hell no! I'm not playing something with the French flag on it!"

III

After Alfred had brought him to Ludwig two days ago, Feliciano had gained a bit more trust with the German. He didn't seem to take interest in Lovino at all and once he figured that out, Alfred had encouraged for Feliciano to take the step for them. Unfortunately, he had seen Ludwig with Lovino again and his insecurity resurfaced again—that was another topic he and Alfred touched upon after talking with Ludwig (the guy didn't suspect a thing strangely).

Alfred had reinforced his earlier statement about Feliciano needing to learn to overcome his fears and the like. He said that if he and Ludwig got into something, he'd sometimes have to take the step, not Ludwig—and that was a scary thought. Yeah, it was kind of selfish to make your other take all of the steps and Feliciano knew it despite how oblivious he seemed. Clearly they'd stumble somewhere where you wouldn't.

Sniffing, he wiped a tear from his cheek. He knew running was bad and something Alfred wouldn't encourage, but he couldn't help it—he didn't want Lovino or Ludwig to see him crying. He cries too much. With another sniff, Feliciano's footsteps sped up. He was so useless…

"No, you're holding the pick wrong!"

"There's an actual _way_ you're supposed to hold a damn guitar _pick_?"

"Hell yeah!"

Curiosity getting the better of him, Feliciano quickly dried his tears and hurried over in the direction of the irritated voices of the lead singer to _The United Nations_ and the guitarist who had just been discharged an hour ago. He peeked his head into the room to see Alfred staring at the navy blue pick in between his fingers with the look of pure murder in his blue eyes. He _really_ wanted to kill that pick from what Feliciano was seeing. "Alfred plays guitar?" Feliciano grinned cheerfully.

"What? No, that's ridiculous," Francis waved his good hand in the air. "Absolutely ridiculous _mon ami_. Since my arm's broken and Arthur's gone, we have to find some way to make up for it and Alfred just so happened to be the one since he doesn't exactly play anything."

"Oh shut up, you could've gotten Kiku to do it, he's like, super good with learning new things and he doesn't really have many parts in our songs…damn, dude you got a song we could have Kiku play in? I feel kinda bad for him."

"Yup, I do, just wait, we can start rehearsing it after this concert—I want to perform it in France."

"It's in French," Alfred deadpanned.

"Cool! Hey, I could give you a few good Italian songs I like!" Feliciano piped happily, Ludwig and Lovino long forgotten. "Oh hey, I can help you Francis with Alfred's guitar learning stuff—I'll go grab mine, just wait a minute~!"

When Feliciano returned with his electric guitar, the learning session continued. They started with basics and then once Alfred could at least do them right, they immediately went straight to teaching him the chords to the songs they were going to be singing. He would complain every now and then, but not excessively and that kind of surprised Francis, knowing who Alfred was.

"My poor guitar…now tainted with British _and_ American…" Francis muttered gloomily under his breath as Alfred sneezed without covering his mouth.

"Ugh…I really wish I could just stick with singing…this guitar stuff sucks," Alfred complained to himself, staring gloomily down at the body of the guitar. His gaze then traveled to the neck and spotted the 'Kirkland was here' written in thick Sharpie marker. He sighed and removed the guitar strap, handing the instrument to Feliciano. "Let's take a break right now…I'm kinda hungry, I'm gonna go get dinner 'kay?"

"Okay!" Feliciano happily waved Alfred off.

With a sigh, Alfred stuffed his hands into his pockets, gaze on the carpeted ground below him. He really missed Arthur—that damn Scott took the guitarist away from him and the guy didn't even want to go willingly. That's what angered Alfred the most over the whole thing—Scott didn't listen to Arthur mainly because he 'wasn't old enough' or something along those shitty lines. Damn it, why do adults have to treat you like kids until you turn eighteen and suddenly transition rather abruptly to treating you like an adult? Alfred didn't understand why they did that, it's like they didn't even think about preparing you. He knew a lot of people didn't have to deal with that, but Arthur was one of those that did.

"Yo Kiku," Alfred grinned as he seated himself next to his Japanese friend, a plate of food in hand. "Haven't talked to ya in a while, so I decided that I needed to talk with you now."

"Ah, it is very nice to see you too," Kiku nodded his head. "Are you surviving without your video games?"

Alfred chuckled. "I'm faring fine actually."

"That is good to hear," Kiku nodded his head and the two eventually fell silent. "So…are you okay?"

"Psh, I've been getting that one all day," Alfred shook his head. "And yesterday," he added, waving a hand in the air rather carelessly. He didn't want to be reminded every single second that he'd had Arthur taken from him, so he decided to change the subject. "Anyways, was the concert that was supposed to be yesterday been cancelled? Nobody really told me, but nobody really left for anywhere, so I was wondering…"

"Yes, it has been postponed two days from now," Kiku nodded his head. Alfred mentally grimaced at the short amount of time he had to learn that entire amount finger cramping chords Francis and Feliciano were throwing at him. Seriously—how the hell did Arthur, Antonio, Ludwig, Feliciano and Francis do it? Your fingers should _not_ be able to do such things. But maybe that was why Arthur was so good at—shutting up.

"Ugh…two days…" he then muttered under his breath. "I'm going to be thrown into some guitar boot camp or something…"

"What are you talking about?" Kiku asked, a bit interested in what Alfred was complaining about.

"Dude, Francis broke his arm and Artie's gone, you and Mattie are like—required in our songs, so that means I'm the only one open for learning how to play guitar and shit like that," Alfred huffed, resting his chin on the table. "I'm only starting and it's torture already—I mean, who the hell can get their fingers to do _that_? God, that's like—ouch! It sucks!" Alfred whined.

"Don't worry—it'll be worth it," Kiku reassured and an idea immediately surfaced in Alfred's head.

With a huge grin, Alfred sat up. "Hey, you got any big American flag stickers?"

III

Naps were wonderful—you got to recharge and prepare yourself for the rest of the day life was going to throw at you. Lately, life's been throwing a lot of shit in _The United Nations's_ direction—

"_MON DIEU!_" –like now.

Matthew yelped and fell out of bed from jumping so violently at the sudden outburst. He hit the ground with an 'oof' before pushing himself up on his elbow. "I will fucking _castrate _that American!" Matthew hid his face in his hands—oh God, this couldn't be good if Francis would resort to such things.

Peeking his head up from the edge of the bed to look in the direction of the door which was on the other side—Matthew spotted a fuming Francis at the door and a horrified Feliciano trembling violently at the entrance, holding Francis's guitar. There—where there used to be a nicely sized French flag sticker—was now a huge American flag sticker that was obviously too big for it had to continue around the other side of the instrument.

"I-I-I-I promise I-I didn't d-do anything to it!" Feliciano wailed even though Francis clearly knew that Feliciano had nothing to do with it. "A-Alfred just told me t-to give it to youuu…" he sobbed, legit tears of fear rolling down his cheeks.

"Move aside—_ALFRED FUCKING JONES!"_

"That's not my middle name~!" came Alfred's voice from outside, cheery and sing-song. "Though Artie _did_ say the exact same thing, so maybe I should change it~?"

"_Get over here damn it!"_

Matthew sighed and rested his chin on the bed as he listened to Francis wail at Alfred in full blown French, Alfred laughing loudly in the distance and sing-songing about being unable to understand Mr. Angry French Dude. All Matthew can conclude is that he was friends, related to and in love, with total nutjobs.

**XXXX**

**(1) Canada Rage Mode – Lol, that's something I use for my friend who I refer to as Canada (I'm America—fuck yeah). We just randomly yell "Canada RAGE MODE!" it's so much fun :3**

** Mwah, you like? :3 Unfortunately, it's failbaot short. TT^TT I really have nothing else to say, I talked myself out…err…typed…in the opening author's note so blah :D Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;D**

**Fun Fact: Warren Harding, America's 29****th**** president, loved to gamble. When he ran out of gambling money, he'd gamble items in the White House (like a chair or a tea set or something—I dunno).**


	35. Chapter 35

** Oh dear, I've been losing motivation for these stories O_O That's scary, because I really don't want to ditch these—don't get me wrong, I won't leave them, updates may be delayed though until I find more motivation ^^' After this and 'Flying's His Thing', maybe I'll just take a break a write a few oneshots and stuff like that :3**

**XXXX**

"Stupid makeup…why does it have to be so irritating?" Lovino muttered darkly to himself as Antonio applied makeup to the black eye he sported. For some reason, Antonio had been avoiding him and keeping to himself, refraining from playing with his hair like he normally did and keeping quiet, which was unusual for the Spaniard. "And quit being such a killjoy you bastard…"

"H-huh? Oh sorry…just have a lot of things on my mind lately," Antonio smiled sheepishly, pulling his hand away briefly before returning wordlessly to the task at hand. Lovino furrowed his eyebrows, cringing slightly at the faint echo of pain from the action. "I'm just not getting a lot of sleep is all."

"You've had two days' worth of sleep," Lovino deadpanned and Antonio continued to look a bit embarrassed.

Over with Ludwig and Feliciano, basically the same thing was happening, only this time it was the Italian who was out of it. Feliciano rubbed makeup onto Ludwig's black eye, having just finished up with covering a bruise on the German's cheek, under the same eye. He was dead silent and actually looked thoughtful for once—Gilbert had joked about it a few minutes earlier, but with the lack of response, sulked off to bother someone else before being pulled aside by Matthew so the Canadian could do the same as Feliciano and Antonio.

Nonetheless, both Lovino and Ludwig were completely oblivious to Feliciano and Antonio's troubles.

"Quit staring at me like that—I'm not going to catch fire any time soon," Alfred muttered, staring just as stonily back at the French guitarist seated in front of him. When Francis didn't respond, and just continued to glare at him, Alfred straightened up, furrowing his eyebrows in irritation. "Dude, if this is about you guitar, no biggie! The sticker will come off—I'm not _that_ unprepared or whatever the word is."

"Why couldn't Matthew do this for me?"

"First: because you two would 'goof off' and second: there no way in _hell_ I'm getting that close to Gilbert's face," Alfred huffed, waving the brush around leisurely, one eyebrow cocked. "Now quit acting like a kid and let me finish," he continued, leaning forward again to cover up whatever bruises Scott had given Francis. "Ugh, Artie's gone, you broke your arm and now _I'm_ playing guitar _and_ I have to get super close to your face—what else can go wrong?"

"You sound like you're blaming me for getting my arm broken."

"Well yeah! If you would've moved out of the way it would still be fine right now," Alfred pointed out.

"Well _sorry_ for being scared!" Francis huffed, pulling away from the object in Alfred's hand. "If I'm going out with a cast, I'm sure a few bruises would be fine too," he continued stubbornly and Alfred huffed.

"Dude, you were such a wimp out there!"

"At least I stepped in!" Francis retorted and Alfred rolled his eyes.

Gilbert tilted his head to the side to get a peek at the two arguing blonds not too far from him and Matthew. From his angle it looked like they were kissing, but that wasn't the case with their irritated bickering. With a grin, Gilbert straightened up so Matthew could continue his work without too much difficulty. "Those two are at it."

"Yeah, Francis is super good at holding grudges when he _really_ wants to, Al's just easy to hold a grudge on apparently," Matthew sighed as he inspected his work, touching it up a bit. "We're off to Paris next after this—wanna just come and hang with us? You Francis and Antonio seem to really get along now that things are figured out."

"Me? Follow you guys? Nah, you're making me sound like some crazy fangirl," Gilbert grinned egotistically. "Thought that _does_ sound like a good idea—Antonio over there looks like he needs to get away from the band life for a bit and just be a normal guy and Frenchie needs it too—I don't of course 'cause I'm awesome and all, but a vacation with those two sounds like, amazingly awesome—not awesomer than me~"

"Sometimes I wonder why I straightened you out—you're ego's gotten so swollen I swear it's bigger than Al's. Did you send that Elizaveta girl home?"

"What? Oh, Ludwig over there did," Gilbert nodded his head in the direction of Ludwig only to have Matthew fuss over the movement. "She threw a huge fit though—wanted to see if Arthur would come back. I swear, she like—probably stares at pictures of gay guys. Bi works too."

Matthew cocked an eyebrow at the information Gilbert had just given him. It was very likely that it was made up knowing who Gilbert was, but then again, it was likely true with those looks the Hungarian kept sending at Alfred and Arthur—as if she were expecting or hoping that something would happen. "She's super weird and I don't really like her like _that_, we're just like—super good friends and—holy shit, is that _Arthur_?"

"What?" Matthew perked up immediately, turning his head just in time to see Alfred sweep Arthur into one of his infamous spinning hugs.

"Dude! He totally got away from that smelly bastard!" Gilbert grinned, jumping up and trotting over to the Briton that was being kissed silly at the moment. "Quit your make-out session! Dude, eyebrows, you got away from that smelly piece of shit!"

"Ugh! Alfred stop it!" Arthur barked, attempting to wiggle out of Alfred's tight embrace. "And yes, I did get away from him, it wasn't that hard," he continued. "Managed to slip away before we went through security."

Alfred finally let his boyfriend onto his feet, but was clearly restraining the urge to tackle him once more. "Dude, that's awesome!" the American grinned, clapping a hand on Arthur's shoulder. He then transitioned into a slightly thoughtful and curious expression. "But why'd it take you two days to get here?"

"Uh, I've never been to Madrid and I rarely went out—I was bound to get lost," Arthur huffed, voice matter-of-fact. He then looked at the grinning Frenchman who stopped next to Alfred, eyeing the cast. "So he actually _did_ break your arm."

"Oh yeah dude, it makes him badass—sort of," Gilbert grinned, throwing an arm around Francis's shoulder and tugging him closer into his side. "Though he did look like he was about to piss his pants any second," the rapper then continued with a humored snicker at his own words. Francis huffed and shoved Gilbert off of him with his one good arm.

"You looked constipated when you were fighting Scott dummy," Francis muttered and Gilbert's giggling immediately stopped.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"_Hola _Arthur! Ah, it's good to see you again!" Antonio grinned as he approached the growing group, Lovino trailing behind him with an expression of slight interest, though he was hiding it well if there was any more than that. Antonio tugged Arthur into a one armed hug before separating themselves, Arthur noticing the slightly tired look in Antonio's green eyes. "How'd you get away? That guy seems like he could keep a tight hold on things."

"Slipped away before we went through security, it wasn't too hard really, just had to duck down and weave through the people—they would look at me strange, but I eventually made it and made a mad dash for…well…for somewhere," Arthur explained, itching at the back of his head. "I had no idea where I was."

"Dude, I'll treat ya to lunch then! You deserve it—it's on me!" Alfred grinned and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It matters if you even have Spanish currency on you," he muttered and Alfred's enthusiasm dissolved into thin air at the complication that immediately hit him in the face. Bowing his head, Alfred muttered under his breath about Arthur being a huge killjoy. "Ugh, I'll ask for some later, we can all have a big dinner and maybe even get every other occupant in the restaurant to start a food fight."

"Whoa! Awesome idea!" Alfred and Gilbert both piped enthusiastically.

"Ugh…two peas in a pod," Matthew sighed, shaking his head slowly. "Those two sometimes are so alike, I think that Gilbert's related to Alfred—closer than I am."

"Likely," Antonio chuckled.

"Oh, but Scott might still be here, so I just want to keep a low profile for now," Arthur pointed out once Alfred and Gilbert both paused at the same time so he could speak. "I can't exactly show up in tabloids really soon yet, so I won't perform tonight."

"That makes sense," Matthew agreed. He was glad Arthur made sense—neither Alfred, Gilbert, sometimes Francis, sometimes Antonio, Lovino and definitely Feliciano didn't make sense. Ludwig made a lot of sense most of the time. "Yeah, so Alfred, you still have to play if you got your hopes up," he announced and Alfred's shoulders slumped.

"But I suck…"

"No you don't, I think you're just fine, come on guys, we gotta get started pretty soon, crowd's getting loud from what I'm hearing," Matthew jabbed a thumb over his shoulder and most of them agreed. Alfred immediately went to finishing Francis's makeup with a 'chin up soldier'. Antonio returned with Lovino to their job and Feliciano to Ludwig, those two having not gotten up to greet Arthur. Rude.

"So you've been going through what you're calling guitar boot camp?" Arthur asked as Alfred worked on the finishing touches to a large bruise on Francis's cheek.

"Yup. Well, with how Frenchie here and Ludwig were teaching me, I seriously thought that I was applying for the military, not learning how to play guitar for a brief amount of time," Alfred shrugged his shoulders and Francis's furrowed his eyebrows wordlessly at the American working on his face.

Antonio and Lovino approached the two a bit later. Alfred whistled before grinning. "Wow Antonio, you did a pretty good job on Lovino there," he inspected Antonio's work. It looked like Lovino had never even gotten into a fight in the first place with how well Antonio had covered up his black eye.

"This guy here's been too quiet," Lovino complained, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the Spanish guitarist standing behind him. His eyebrows rose.

"What do you mean Lovi?"

"Don't call me that," Lovino grunted before continuing. "He isn't talking as much as he used to—yeah, it's great to find that he's learned that his voice won't last him forever, but seriously—this is kind of over doing it."

"I already told you that I have quite a bit of things on my mind…" Antonio muttered, rubbing his upper arm awkwardly. "I could try to talk more with you if you really want me to though."

"Ugh, no way bastard," Lovino waved a hand in the air carelessly. "When you get going, you get going," Antonio looked a bit hurt at the statement, but remained silent on the subject. Alfred obviously knew what Antonio and Feliciano's problems were, but since he didn't know whether they were comfortable with him telling the others already, he decided to keep his lips sealed on the matter.

"I think we should go out in a few minutes guys," Antonio then pointed out, wanting to change the subject at hand. "Are you ready Alfred? You should do some last minute tuning."

"Fine, fine, finish up on Frenchie for me 'kay?" Alfred straightened up and handed the brush to Antonio. Arthur followed Alfred to the guitar case propped almost carelessly against the wall.

"You could at least take a bit more care of it even _if_ it's Francis's guitar," Arthur pointed out and Alfred snorted as he unzipped the case. Flipping it open, Alfred grinned down at the large American flag the guitar temporarily donned before his grin widened at the snickering coming from Arthur who was slightly behind him. "Oh, that's probably why he looked so sour."

"Yup—I think he's still bothering over it even after I told him it's removable."

"Francis is really good at holding grudges when he really wants to," Arthur pointed out and Alfred nodded his head before furrowing his eyebrows, the sentence sinking a bit further into his brain.

"But this is something dumb to hold a grudge on," he pointed out and Arthur sighed.

"You're just as dislikable person to some for some reason," he muttered and Alfred pouted, pulling out the digital tuner from the case. "Oh, and you might not want to use a digital one since there's a lot of excess noise in the background."

"Ugh, fine, one moment, one moment," Alfred huffed, stuffing the object back into the pouch the guitar case had for convenience before fishing out a plug in tuner. "Is this better? It doesn't look much different…"

"Yes, that's a bit better for when you've got a lot of extra noise going on," Arthur nodded his head and Alfred plugged a cord into the input jack. He watched Alfred tune the guitar with slight difficulty and wished to whatever gods that were above him that Alfred not mess up. That'd extremely embarrassing even if he wasn't going to be on stage.

"Alright, wish me luck," Alfred grinned once he finished tuning the guitar, clapping Arthur on the shoulder. Arthur smiled, leant up so that he could kiss Alfred on the lips before backing off.

"Yup, you have all of it."

III

Arthur was actually impressed with how nicely Alfred was able to play with only two and a half days of practice. There _were_ a few obvious fumbles here and there, but they weren't so bad that Alfred had to stop playing altogether—Arthur's conclusion was that Alfred was okay. A bit rocky, but okay.

Once they finished the concert with Her Diamonds, Alfred immediately headed back stage with how quickly the American arrived, a huge grin stretching at his lips. "Dude! How was I? Oh, did you listen to Gilbort and I sing Stereo Hearts? The crowd went crazy man!"

"Yes, yes they did, I could hear them," Arthur nodded his head and Alfred continued to chat with the Briton excitedly.

"Was I good at it? Was I? Be honest Artie~!"

"Yeah, you were good—a few obviously slip ups here and there, but you're pretty good—am surprised that all of that was only two and a half days' worth," Arthur pointed out and Alfred pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you~! You have no idea how happy that made me, hearing it from you~!"

"I'm sure you would've been happier if I were Ludwig," Arthur muttered and Alfred pulled away from the guitarist, still grinning.

"But you're my boyfriend and Ludwig's just a…what do you call it? Acquaintance," Alfred explained, squeezing Arthur briefly before leaning down to kiss him.

"Whoa, having fun back here?" Gilbert asked, a huge, mischievous grin stretching his own lips. "Sorry if we were interrupting something, but it might be smarter to have sex somewhere else if you don't want anyone else to see you naked."

"Shut up!" Arthur wailed, throwing a songbook that was lying on the floor at Gilbert who ducked out of the way easily, still snickering to himself. "Guh, he's annoying," Arthur then pouted.

"Yeah, you'll get used to him."

"I seriously doubt it—hey Kiku, good job," Arthur smiled, giving the Japanese keyboardist a thumbs up. Kiku smiled and nodded his head along with a small thanks before announcing that he'd go back out in a while to help the cleanup crew. Lovino still seemed to have a problem with them helping out clean the stage up, but had slightly warmed up to the idea since they all just had their own fun as they cleaned up every now and then.

"Hey Antonio, Alfred over there just offered us to come with them to Paris so we can wreak havoc! Wanna come? I'm going because that gives me an awesome chance to vandalize that place!"

"No way in hell am I letting you do that!" Francis butt in, furrowing his eyebrows and stepping forward in defense. Gilbert simply grinned and pat his chest with his fist.

"Try me Frenchie! I'll write awesome stuff unlike what you guys did in London…that _was_ you right? They haven't really been pointing fingers…"

"I'll never tell you for you'd leak the information," Francis huffed, turning his head away from the Prussian in a stubborn way.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Gilbert grinned and Francis glared at him. "Oh come on dude! You could join me in my awesome activity and all of Paris will know your name!"

"Yeah, but not in a good way…"

"Oh hush up, it'll be fun—so what's your choice Antonio? You're taking a while."

"Yeah, I'll come," said guitarist nodded his head. "Is it just going to be us or is anyone else coming like Ludwig or Lovi?" Lovino snapped t Antonio, though it was ignored.

"Nope, just you and me—we kinda need to get away and stuff you know?" Gilbert threw an arm around Antonio's shoulder, tugging him closer. "And it's awesome to hear that you're coming! You really need a break from those two Italians," he continued in a joking way.

"Alright guys, let's get cleanup started—the crew's already out there," Matthew announced and a majority of them nodded their heads. Lovino huffed and stormed off, apparently not in the mood of hanging out with the rest of his band mates.

XXXX

**Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas**

**Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes**

** Lol, I didn't write the description of the concert mainly because I am way too tired to do so…Man, I've been writing chapters late at night lately—I gotta change that. And sorry if this chapter's short :P Again, like I just stated, I'm dead tired…So please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;D**

**Fun Fact: In Pokémon Black and White, Castelia City was based off of New York City.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Como estas mi amigos/as? :D Lo siento por la espera :3 Podrías entender a yo? Ja, ja, voy a vivir en Inglaterra cuando sea mayor :3 (dijiste este múltiplo tempos…) Disfruta :D**

**XXXX**

Alfred grinned as he approached a large window in the airport they had just touched down in—the sight outside was rather impressive, though he did have one question. "Hey Iggy, why are all of the buildings so short?" he asked, turning to look curiously at his guitarist of a boyfriend as he stopped next to the American.

Out the window, they got a rather impressive sight of the Eiffel Tower, though, the airport was kind of close, so the top of the window wasn't exactly enough to see the rest of the large steel structure. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows and bent forward so he could see the top of the Eiffel Tower.

"Buildings are restricted to seven floors," Arthur remarked flatly and Alfred cocked an eyebrow, a bit mesmerized at why that was the case. Arthur then huffed and shook his head, placing a hand on his hip. "Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't listen to that…(1)" he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"How do you know that?" Alfred asked. "You and Mattie a so flippin' smart…" he then bowed his head and felt a rain storm letting loose above his head.

As Alfred, sulked, Arthur shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "My history teacher's a nut. Ugh…especially for the French—though I can't see why they're so fascinating…" he shook his head once more before glancing over to Francis who was currently flirting with a few girls (surprisingly, since he'd stopped flirting according to Alfred), all four of them speaking in French. Matthew seemed to just notice it and stormed over to the group, grabbing Francis harshly by the ear and dragging him off.

Alfred tugged out his phone, turned it on and immediately began texting someone. A bit interested in what Alfred was doing, Arthur leant over so he could see what the American was doing. "Who're you texting Al?"

Alfred smiled at the nickname before becoming a tad more serious. "Feliciano's having a bit of a problem back in Spain," he then shook his head. "It's…complicated, I think I already explained a bit of it to you, but Feli thinks he saw Lovino, his brother I think, with Ludwig, you know who he is. So I went to talk with Ludwig with Feli and a bit later, I think after Scott took you, he thought he saw Lovino and Ludwig together again. Antonio's kinda troubled by it too, but he's 'getting away' with Gilbert and Frenchie over there as you can see," he jabbed his shoulder over his shoulder at the three, Gilbert currently attempting to strangle Francis with his shirt, Antonio having pinned the flailing, wavy haired blond onto the ground.

"Pfft, to be truthful, it kind of looks like Gilbert and Antonio are trying to rape him," Arthur snorted, watching as Matthew looked like he was trying to decide whether he should interfere or not. Alfred instantaneously returned his attention to his cellular when it began vibrating again. He frowned a bit at the reply Feliciano had sent him.

"Dude, quit bothering with Feli! This is your break!" Gilbert announced as he managed to gag Francis with his shirt which he had removed. "Come rape Frenchie with us!" he then continued with a huge grin and Matthew turned a bit red. Alfred simply stared blankly back at the struggling three, not exactly knowing how he should react. "Fine, be that way~!"

"Mm mm! Ond isen oo im!" Francis wailed, voice muffled by the shirt. The three girls he had just been flirting with were currently watching, two of them plugging their noses while the third watched curiously. Alfred grinned at the French teen just to make him think things. "Ow! Arefoh of mah brokeh arm!"

"Come on guys, you can rape him in the hotel," Alfred chuckled, waving a hand in the air as he turned for the exit. "Just drag him, I don't think he's very heaving giving how damn skinny he is."

"I think he's fine…" Matthew muttered, blush deepening as he said that. He then followed after Alfred, Arthur soon following the Canadian drummer as he turned to glance over his shoulder expectantly at the trio.

"…Just wait a moment, we'll figure out how to get some handcuffs without him escaping."

III

_June 19_

_ Paris, France_

_ I'll laugh if that bastard Scott is still in Spain. –Happy face drawn here-_

_ Ah! We're in France, it's better than I thought it was going to be. Dude, that Eifel tower's fucking huge! I didn't know it was THAT big! I wanna get closer and see how tall it is from the ground. Kinda like that clock in London. –Smiley face drawn here- Oh, and I want to see…I dunno what it's called, but I'm gonna go sightseeing with Artie! I'll write it down later when I learn what it's called. –Smiley face drawn here-_

_ Frenchie is being raped by Gilbort (I call him that because it's funny) and Mr. Spanish dude as I write. That's just…just a really funny though, I mean, it's FRANCIS. Just…ha, ha, it's funny. Oh man, I'm totally gonna call them the Bad Touch Trio, it totally fits them, thought it up just as I saw them dragging Francis in, hand cuffed by the ankles and wrists. Oh God, that's so funny. –Amused face drawn here-_

_ I'll write more when I get in my room. –Smiley face drawn here-_

"Ah! Look at this! Even though we're only in a seven floor hotel, we still got a nice view—check it out Artie!" Alfred grinned excitedly, glancing out the window. True, you didn't exactly get the best sight of the Eiffel Tower since most of it was cut off by the top of the window, but hey, it was better than nothing—he didn't even think Matthew and Francis's room had a sight of said structure. Poor suckers.

Looking down, he saw Gilbert, Antonio and a now restraint free Francis running out of the hotel, Francis being chased by the two. Alfred wasn't very surprised with how fast Francis was running giving that he used to be on the track team for school. He grinned, he now knew what else to add to his journal entry of the day.

Plopping himself onto the only bed in the room, Alfred opened his notebook happily and pulled out a pencil. Arthur seated himself next to the American, reading what he had already written and snickering to himself as he read Alfred's words along with pointing out that Alfred spelt 'Eiffel' wrong. With a 'shut up', Alfred returned to writing. "Aren't journals supposed to be private Iggy?"

_Frenchie, Billshit and Mr. Spanish dude are off to wreck havoc on Paris. I wonder if they'll land themselves in an article in the tabloids, kind of like how Frenchie and I did in London. That was fun, ah, good memories…Anyways! Yeah, I can just see it, I mean, it's…it's just THEM. They're just crazy and shit and just stuff like that. And Gilbort will never catch Frenchie, 'cause once he's running, damn, he's running._

_ Hm, maybe I should spray paint the big clock in London onto a bridge somewhere since Frenchie did an Eiffel tower somewhere in London according to him. Nah, Artie will whoop my ass if I do (eeeey, that doesn't sound so bad~)._

"Alfred!"

"Ow! Ha, ha! Sorry, sorry…"

_Whatever, Artie isn't in the mood. Well, I really don't have much else to write. We're having a concert tomorrow, though I can't pronounce the name…it's in French and French words make no sense, they sound NOTHING like Spanish words (and I thought French and Spanish were supposed to sound familiar, though when I was listening to Feliciano talking in Italian one day, I could understand almost everything he was saying). Oh, Artie just said it was some Zénith de Paris or something…Here, I'll grab my laptop and look at a picture of it._

_ Damn, it looks pretty trippy and freaking awesome, didn't know the French could pull something like that off. –Epic happy face drawn here- Let's see, this and the O2 are my favorite so far. Mattie will like this. –Happy face drawn here- That's all I have to write right now._

_-Detailed drawing of the Eiffel Tower drawn here-_

Arthur peeked over Alfred shoulders and his eyebrows raised when he saw the half done drawing of the Eiffel Tower in Alfred's notebook. "Wow Al, you're pretty good at drawing—you plan on doing something with it?" he asked, plopping onto his stomach next to Alfred who smiled at him.

"Yeah, I try to draw something for each journal entry—see?" he opened to a different page to show the half-finished anime style drawing of them. "I started this one, but didn't feel like finishing it—maybe I should finish it later," he closed the notebook and dropped it on the floor. "And do something with it? Like what?"

"Well I don't know, just sell it or something," Arthur shrugged his shoulders. "It's another way to get money since this whole band thing doesn't get you paid all that well at the moment."

"Ugh, that really sucks ya know?" Alfred huffed, rolling off of the bed and standing up. With a grin, he brushed off the nonexistent dust from his shirt and motioned for Arthur to stand as well. "Wanna go sightseeing with me? I mean, nobody really knows us here—I think—and we're allowed to walk around and stuff like that and we have nothing to do, so I thought we could go walk around town. There were a few things I wanted to see too."

Arthur muttered something under his breath before perking up once more. "Uh, sure, we can go walk around a bit."

III

"Holy hell, look at this beautiful babe!" Gilbert piped excitedly, holding up a guitar. "Oh man, I _love_ the colors and the shape! God, I want it so bad now! Here, Antonio ma man, shred for me!" he shoved the instrument into Antonio's hands.

"Uh…it doesn't exactly sound like 'shredding' when I'm not on an amp…" he muttered, looking around for a good looking amplifier. Gilbert huffed and walked off, likely searching for an amplifier that had the capability of deafening someone.

"Dude, totally found one!" he returned, so he could herd the Spaniard to the amplifier he found fit for the guitar. "Now shred," he demanded with a toothy grin, sticking the cord into the stringed instrument. Antonio huffed and began playing multiple chords, Gilbert turning up the volume to painful levels with how small the shop was. "Shred like West does! Go, go Antonio!"

III

Francis grinned when he spotted Gilbert and Antonio sulking outside of a guitar shop, Antonio muttering about something while Gilbert was glaring into the window at the shopkeeper who was currently glaring back at him. "I'm not surprised that you guys got kicked out so early~" he snickered and Gilbert snapped his attention in Francis's direction.

"Oh, shit…" he turned and high tailed it out of there as Gilbert chased after the French teen, wailing 'I've finally found you!' at the top of his lungs. Even though many of them didn't exactly understand English, those that did sent looks of horror at the two as Gilbert screamed about raping Francis when it was obviously a joke. They didn't care if they landed in the tabloids and a French police station, this was, apparently, their idea of fun.

"Mein Gott, you're fast! You make up for you frailness with speed man!" Gilbert huffed. "But I'm fast too! Don't worry, I'm gonna get you!"

Unfortunately for the Prussian, he didn't catch him—he had completely forgotten about the stamina factor and had heard that Francis used to be on the school track team (the best on the team to top it off) for five years straight. He grinned as he sat at a bench, panting like he had just ran from the cops. "Heh…Matthew…hah, Matthew must…have it good..." he began snickering at the innuendo. It took him a moment to recover before he was just sitting there, still panting. "Holy hell, where'd Antonio go?"

"Right here dude—"

"_EAARGH_!"

"Hah! You're expression was priceless," Antonio snickered before plopping himself down next to Francis. "Did he lose you? Again?"

"Hell! Don't scare me like that! And yeah, he's like a fucking gazelle, I swear. I think I heard Matthew talking about that bastard being on the track team and being the best person on the team…" he shook his head. "Man, all I did was play basketball, what'll that do for you when you're trying to rape someone?"

Antonio burst out laughing at the joke and Gilbert grinned toothily at his friend. "Ah, I played football…err…Alfred would say soccer, but I refuse to say soccer," he waved a hand in the air, a slightly disgusted look crossing over his features before disappearing altogether. With a sigh, he sat back. "Maybe I'll help later~"

"Hah, it's too bad you can't combine speed," Gilbert smiled, shaking his head. "So! While we wait for him to reveal himself like he just did not too long ago—what do you want to do?"

"Sup guys, what're you doing?" Alfred greeted with a grin and a wave of the hand, Arthur following behind him. "And what's up with you Billshit? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"That's another good way to explain it," Gilbert chuckled before resting his elbows on his knees. "Dude, Francis is so damn fast, I can't catch him—I knew we shouldn't have let him loose!"

"He was complaining about his arm amigo…" Antonio pointed out and Gilbert huffed.

"Yeah, so he could get away from us," he then sat up straighter. "God—hey Al Fucking Jones, ya know why he's so damn fast? I did hear Matthew talking about him being on the track team or something…"

"Oh yeah, Frenchie was on the track team ever since we were allowed to start signing up for things in fifth grade," Alfred grinned. "Was on the team last year too—whooped some serious ass, went to one of his track meets with Mattie and damn, those guys were fast and I would never be able to run that fast, but holy hell, Frenchie was even faster…" he then shook his head, grin widening. "You might as well give up."

"Oh you're no fun Fucking Jones," Gilbert grinned.

"That's not my middle name."

"Yeah, but Billshit isn't my last name—you're lucky Ludwig ain't here," he ticked his index finger back and forth, clicking his tongue as he did so. "That doesn't mean I don't think I'll be able to fight against you—'cause I'd whoop your ass—just the thought of West, since he's super strong, kicking your ass is even awesomer."

"Nah, I don't see that happening," Alfred grinned, clapping Gilbert on the shoulder. "I'm too awesome."

"Yeah, but not as awesome as me."

"No way, I'm awesomer."

Arthur facepalmed as the two went back and forth over who's 'awesomer' than the other. "I'm surrounded by gits," he shook his head and sighed before removing his hand from his forehead. "Sometimes it just really sucks to be me…" he then began to sulk to himself, both Gilbert and Alfred still going at it.

XXXX

**(1) Seven stories; Hollywood not listening to that – In most Hollywood movies, when the people are in a building (and it's in France) almost always, **_**always**_**, there's a full scene of the Eiffel Tower. In reality, many buildings are restricted to seven floors tall and it's very likely that you won't be able to see the Eiffel Tower that well anyways. Interesting isn't it?**

**Lol, since I made Francis such a wimp in the physical area, I decided to let him be a superstar on a track team :P Sorry for the delay (if you couldn't understand a word I said in the opening author's note), watched HetaOni with my little brother because he wanted to watch it and I hadn't finished the outline to this chapter yet :P Ignore what I said in the opening authors note last chapter—I was just weird and tired and just…stuff :P So bleh. Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :D**

**Fun Fact: Women blink twice as much as men.**


	37. Chapter 37

** Baaw, I was going to update yesterday, but then I started watching HetaOni again and was like "Must…keep…watching O_O" so then I lost the motivation because I got HetaOni obsessed all over again…I lurv it so much…**

**XXXX**

Well his first reaction would've been to cock an eyebrow and stop walking, but he continued on. The second time he walked past the two, he had to do what he would've originally done. "Uh…what're you two doing?" Matthew asked.

Alfred and Arthur separated, the American looking like he was having the time of his life. "Dude! I totally convinced Artie here and since we're in France, might as well do the cheesy kiss with an Eiffel Tower backdrop," he grinned before hugging Arthur close to him. "It took a long time, but eventually he had to cave in to my awesomeness."

"You sound like Gilbert…" Matthew muttered to himself before perking up once more, hoping that the American didn't hear what he had said. "That sounds kind of like an excuse to me," he pointed out and Arthur blushed. Alfred simply laughed and clapped Matthew on the shoulder, having let go of the British guitarist.

"Dude, I don't need to make an excuse," he grinned and Matthew could only roll his eyes. Gilbert soon trotted up to them without Antonio, a large grin stretching his lips.

"Dudes, this place's awesome! Obviously not as awesome as me, but it's pretty cool! Paris has midget buildings!" Gilbert piped and the three sent him a blank look. "…What? What're you looking at me like that for?" he then asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion before Alfred burst out laughing for seemingly (to Gilbert) no reason. "Uh…hey, can you two tell me what's wrong with him?"

"I think he thinks your 'midget building' remark was funny," Matthew deadpanned and Gilbert returned to grinning obnoxiously. "I personally thought it was strange."

"No way! It was awesome like me—just not as awesome!" Gilbert pat his chest with his fist. "But it's true! These things are nothing compared to New York or Tokyo!"

"Dude, you've been to Tokyo?" Alfred piped, laughter halting abruptly. "I've always wanted to go there and Kiku and I are gonna raid the stores there! Man! I'm gonna go poor!"

"You're talking like that's a good thing…" Matthew muttered and Alfred replied with an overly enthusiastic 'it is!'. At the moment, Matthew couldn't tell whether Alfred was joking around or not. "Say Gilbert, where's Antonio?"

"Antonio? I think he went off to find something to eat…" Gilbert halted his chatting with Alfred and averted his attention to Matthew to answer. "Saw him walk into some sort of bakery—I dunno where Frenchie is either—need to rape him again. Say, that reminds me, when's that concert tonight? I don't want you guys ditching me and Antonio."

"We'd never do that, trust me…well…I'm not sure about Al, Arthur or Francis, but I wouldn't and Kiku wouldn't. It's at nine tonight at the Zénith de Paris," Matthew answered. "You'll just have to meet us back at the hotel, I'm sure we'll all be there before we leave."

"Great!"

"Ah~! Mira, mira! Este pan es la cosa mas hermosa que he visto—jya~! I got a three foot long (1) loaf!" Antonio happily exclaimed as he approached the group standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Lo and behold, the Spaniard had a three foot long loaf of, likely, French bread (2) and a bag of what seemed to be croutons.

"Holy hell—gimme some, gimme, gimme!" Gilbert piped, snatching the loaf of bread from Antonio's hand and breaking off a large piece. He then proceeded with stuffing it into his mouth and talking at the same time. "Ah you goa eah hose crootons plai?"

"Hell yeah I am," Antonio grinned. "Croutons are amazingly amazing—and more awesome than you, especially when you subtract the salad (3)."

"What? No way—baked bread is _not_ awesomer than I am," Gilbert grunted as he swallowed the bread he had stuffed into his mouth. "Here Birdie, try some!" he broke off a piece and handed it to Matthew just as Alfred stole the loaf from him. A bit thrown off at the new nickname, Matthew took a moment to take the broken off piece of bread from the rapper.

"You guys are ridiculous…" Arthur muttered, facepalming as Alfred mirrored what Gilbert had just done not too long ago. "Such a big fuss over bread…" he continued as he took a piece Alfred had broken off for him.

"Hey, I bought that with good money!" Antonio barked, prying the remaining one and a half feet of bread from Alfred.

"It's fresh," Arthur remarked once he swallowed the bread.

"Yeah it is!" Antonio grinned, biting straight off of the food. "Had to wait quite a bit for them to finish it, but it's totally worth it as you can see!" he then swallowed. "Hey, did you guys see the Arc de Triomphe?"

"The what?" Alfred asked.

"That big arc kind of thing!" Antonio poorly clarified for the American. "The one that's like—oh I don't know how to explain it—it looks like a building, but it's not a building," he huffed. Alfred still was giving him that blank look that clearly read 'I dunno what yer blabbering about, so I'm gonna ignore ya'. "Whatever, damn, you guys took a lot! I might have to go back for more—I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Gilbert waved a hand in the air dismissively. "You should buy a café or something, but then again, you'd suck pretty bad at it," he began to snicker at the thought. "People would start to think life's meaningless…" he burst into a rather uncontrollable fit of giggles.

"What? What do you mean they'd think life's meaningless? I'd be an amazing café owner!" Antonio grinned dreamily, staring off into space with borderline sparkling eyes. "Just imagine! I'd give them free T-shirts too just for coming!" Antonio piped and Gilbert began to snicker again. "What?"

"Oh nothing, nothing," he waved his hand in the air dismissively once more.

III

Arthur entered their hotel room to find Alfred texting likely Feliciano on their bed, staring up at his phone with a determined expression. "What's up?" he asked as he plopped down into the space next to Alfred, rolling over so that he was also on his back. "Is it Feliciano again?"

"Yeah…" Alfred sighed, letting his hands fall onto his torso, phone resting on his chest. "He and Lovino just got into a huge argument according to Feli…" he glanced at Arthur and tugged him closer to himself. Arthur turned onto his side so that he could get into a more comfortable position in Alfred's arms, closing his eyes and nuzzling into Alfred's shirt.

"Feliciano doesn't seem like the type to argue…And you shouldn't stress too much about them to the point it dominates your life…" Arthur muttered into Alfred's T-shirt. "It's not healthy for you or the people around you…" he continued. Alfred smiled and squeezed Arthur briefly.

"Aww, thanks Artie," he muttered, nuzzling into the guitarists hair. "But I just feel like I'm in the middle of everything…I mean, I'm trying to help out Yao too ya know…"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it until we actually have to deal with it in Berlin," Arthur remarked, looking up at Alfred. "Remember, you have a life outside of helping people."

"Yup, and that life's you~!" Alfred grinned, rolling over so that he was above Arthur. Leaning down, they kissed. "So, we've got a concert in about two hours, what'll we be doing until then?" he muttered, the two nuzzling each other like dogs.

"We do have to get to rehearsal too you know."

"Yeah, we have two hours until rehearsal, that's what I meant," Alfred grinned, leaning up and playing with Arthur's hair. "I mean, this is Paris man, there should at least be a few things that might interest us other than lovey dovey shit."

"This is 'lovey dovey' shit Al," Arthur smiled back up at the American singer, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind Alfred's ear. "And I don't feel like doing anything at the moment—can't we just stay in here?"

"Aww, you're such a hermit Artie~" Alfred snickered, earning a swat from Arthur. "Yeah, yeah, we can stay here if you wanna," Alfred then continued, rolling off of Arthur and landing on his back next to said Briton. "Ah, this place is like, perfect temperature and stuff~"

"Better than London?"

"No way! London's awesome! It doesn't have 'midget buildings'," Alfred snickered. "Gah, how about a nap? We don't really get that much sleep these days since we like to stay up and hang out so much…" Alfred suggested, rolling onto his side so that he was facing Arthur. "That sound good to you? I think it does," he smiled and pulled Arthur close to him in a hug.

"Sure, I'm fine with that."

There was a brief silence before Alfred spoke up once more. "Hey Artie? You awake?"

"Yes I am Alfred, I'd never be able to fall asleep that quickly," Arthur reassured, cracking an eye open to look at his boyfriend. "But I would've appreciated it if you didn't bother me."

"Oh…sorry Artie. Anyways…you know how we're going to be seeing Ivan in Germany?" Alfred asked, looking Arthur straight in the eye. The Briton simply nodded his head and Alfred sighed, closing his eyes. "Can you help me when we see him? Like…just be there?"

"Yes I will Alfred, whatever made you doubt that is absolutely ridiculous," Arthur sighed, leaning forward so that their noses were touching. "I'll always be there."

"You sound so cheesy~"

"But it works."

III

"Ah! That was a nice nap—sup guys?" Alfred greeted, stretching his arms high in the air, Arthur following behind slightly groggily. "Gotta get this party started do we? Where's Mattie and Frenchie?"

"Meh, they went off somewhere," Gilbert snorted, itching at his head. "I have no idea where they went, but I'm sure they left us to do some kinky things," he grinned and began snickering and muttering to himself. Alfred blankly watched the Prussian talk to himself before sighing, concluding that the guy was slightly hopeless. "We don't wanna interrupt on anything, so we're just waiting out here."

"Oh," Alfred muttered, rubbing his chin. "How about we just leave without them? They should know how to get here and it's their fault for leaving in the first place."

"True, true, c'mon let's go—"

"Were you planning on leaving us?" Matthew questioned as he and Francis approached the group.

"No we weren't!"

"Eh, si, they were," Antonio grinned obliviously, jabbing a thumb at Alfred and Gilbert. "Those two were hablando about leaving you two and assumed that you'd be able to find you way to the Zénith," he continued to grin obliviously at the two wavy haired blonds. He was either actually oblivious, or he was trying to get them in trouble and was putting up a rather impressive act. The latter was more likely.

"Ha, ha! A-Antonio was just in Spanish mode and thought we were saying that!" Gilbert grinned. "Don't mind him—he's loopy!"

The two obviously didn't believe him, but decided not to fret over it. "Uh…okay."

They were driven to the Zénith and had finished up rehearsal not too long before the concert began. Backstage, Matthew was making a few final touches to some still vaguely visible bruises on Alfred, having finished up on Francis not too long ago. Gilbert, Antonio and Francis were chatting animatedly, likely plotting what they'd do to terrorize their friends next with the huge grin stretching Gilberts face as he laughed hysterically and tried to talk at the same time.

"M'kay Al, that's it," Matthew grinned, stepping back. "I can't see a thing—serious."

"Cool," Alfred grinned, lifting his arm so he could inspect one of Matthew's many works. "You did great Mattie—come on guys! Let's go out there!"

They played out their usual routine, their first song being Elle Me Dit. Alfred and Francis were both singing the French song and he didn't know why, but Alfred felt like a badass singing in French as Arthur gaped at him from his spot to his right. Every now and then, Francis would blow a kiss into the crowd only to be elbowed in the ribs by Alfred who told him with a grin not to do so. Alfred enjoyed hitting the high notes in the songs chorus, it had taken him quite a bit of time to learn this song.

They followed up with Body Language, a song both Alfred and Francis were rather fond of. They had decided that since Francis's arm was broken and he was incapable of playing guitar, he'd be singing until further notice. Alfred continued to send Arthur sly looks as well, hovering closer to Arthur when he sang 'parlez vous Français', the Briton obviously having no idea what Alfred had just sang. He understood the Spanish and Japanese parts though since they were known by many people (4). Obviously Alfred would sing the chorus (even though he _was_ in fact rather fluent in Spanish) and didn't stop sending Arthur looks, Francis snickering to himself whenever he caught Alfred doing so.

They then continued with a song Kiku had written for them called Hattafutte Parade. Arthur would sing it since Kiku had written it specifically for the Briton. Alfred grinned once Arthur started the song, leaning over to Francis and remarking how much of a good singer Arthur was. He may have mentioned it before, but Arthur sounded like a whole different person when he was singing in Japanese. He was impressed that Kiku's keyboard could imitate a bagpipe, but then again—technology these days. He couldn't help but snicker whenever Arthur sang 'Pabu te go paredo (5)', it just sounded like it related to a pub and it was very likely. It was also funny how Arthur would add a rather appealing dance move whether it was intended or not. He also had to keep himself when Arthur said 'fish andu chipusu wa (5) '.

Their fourth song was Vous which Francis would sing. Arthur was on the guitar while Kiku opened with his keyboard set to the 'music box' setting. Alfred stood aside, smiling at his band mates. Sometimes they could seem like the normal boy band and sometimes they put so much emotion into it that it was almost embarrassing. He brined at Matthew, giving his half-brother a thumbs up. Matthew was obviously trying not to cry as he played his drums. When they got to the bridge, Francis had his eyes closed as he sang, the song clearly directed towards Matthew even though the lyrics didn't exactly fit and he wasn't facing the Canadian physically.

Matthew jumped out of his seat and tackled Francis once they were done. Antonio smiled at that and began to think about likely Lovino with how his smile fell slightly. Alfred grinned and tugged Arthur closer after throwing an arm around the guitarists shoulder. "Man, I really liked this concert mainly because it made me feel awesome," he grinned.

"You sound like Gilbert—anyways, more than the one at the O2 on Christmas?"

"What? No way! But they're like, tied right now, I kinda like the one at the O2 a bit better, but this one was pretty fun," Alfred grinned, glancing over at Matthew and Francis, snickering to himself. "Well, obviously Mattie seemed to be effected by out last song—Frenchie and I were keeping Vous and Elle Me Dit a secret…so sorry about that…"

"Yeah, I really wonder why you just gave me a music sheet without a title that one day," Arthur shook his head with a smile. "At least I know what it was for now."

Alfred hummed before pulling his phone out when it began vibrating in his pocket. Flipping it open, Alfred read the text he had received, a frown forming on his face. Blinking, Arthur peeked at the screen, asking what the problem was now.

"Ugh, I…I don't really think things are going very well back there…" Alfred muttered, snapping his phone shut—he'll reply later. "They're just tangling themselves up pretty badly."

"Who? Ludwig, Feliciano and Lovino?" Arthur asked, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "I thought I told you not to overthink about them."

"Well you didn't say it exactly like that, but they're kind of becoming a hazard to each other—should I tell Feliciano to just take a break from them or what? I have no idea what to tell him…poor guy," Alfred muttered, glancing at his closed cellular and pondering whether he should reply right now. "He sounds really confused."

"He probably is—here, we can talk about it when we get back to the hotel, maybe we can get some help from Antonio and Gilbert too, so we can talk about it in the café," Arthur nodded his head. "Just tell us what's going on and we'll figure things out from there."

"You make it sound so much more simple than what it is…"

"Yeah, that's because it _is_ simple. You guys are just making it more complex than it should become."

"Sounds a lot like us."

XXXX

**Elle Me Dit by Mika**

**Body Language by Jesse McCartney (not T-Pain collab)**

**Hattafutte Parade by Hetalia (I dunno who to give credit to…TT^TT)**

**Vous by Merwan Rim**

**Este pan es la cosa mas Hermosa que he visto – This bread is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen**

**Hablando - Talking**

**(1) Three feet – Just under a meter for those out of the US ^^'**

**(2) French bread – Ah…fresh French bread right out of the oven is the best thing on this whole damn beautiful swollen blue ball (lol, quoting France). Admit it (I wish I could put the Me Gusta rage face here…).**

**(3) Croutons are best when you subtract the salad – Oh, that's so true for me…**

**(4) Body Language, Spanish/Japanese parts – Am talking about the Konichiwa and hey little chica parts. I'm sure a lot of you know what those mean :3**

**(5) Pabu te go paredo/fish andu chipusu wa – That's the actual Romanization of those lyrics no matter how you hear it :P I've got only one year of Japanese under my belt, so that's why I know that much…TT^TT I also had to add those parts mainly because those are my favorite parts to the song :3**

** Holy hell, I want a three foot long loaf of French bread O_O Fwaah~ I was typing this as I listened to Can You Feel the Love Tonight? In French…D Bwah! I love the Hattafutte Parade's! I love how they add their national anthems in the middle of them (I'm not so sure about America's…). I just love…:3 It made me love Germany's national anthem and when I heard England's, I was like "Now if only it actually sounded like that…". I dunno, I'm an alternative freak, I just think it sounds better than having a whole bunch of people sing it :3**

** Vous is such a beautiful song…TT^TT Ai lurve it…Oh gosh, I've said so much here ;A; So I'll stop now before I say anything else. Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends :)**

**Fun Fact: The metal part on the pencil (near the eraser. Hey Sky, there's only one metal part on a pencil, why'd you have to put that there?) is called the 'ferrule'.**


	38. Chapter 38

** Oof…I got homework that I **_**really**_** don't want to do ;A;**

**XXXX**

_June 23_

_ Paris, France_

_ This is our last day in the city of lights, we've got one last concert tonight before we leave for Germany tomorrow. Man…even though Artie told me not to, I can't help but feel super nervous about seeing Ivan again…and not in a good way. Ivan's in Berlin probably right now too…I heard he's actually in a band with his sisters and three friends, he just liked to wander away from them a lot. I'll look them up later…of just meet them personally._

_ Man, they said it'd be two more months before Frenchie can even think about flexing his arm…man that must really suck. I'd go crazy according to Artie. –Happy face drawn here- Ha, ha…poor Mattie's gonna be sexually frustrated for two whole flippin' months. Depravation much? -Laughing face drawn here- Oh man…Artie would kill me if he saw this…and Mattie. Let's not forget him. Billshit's still trying to rape Francis too. Man, the Bad Touch Trio is such a perfect name for those three._

_ That's all for now._

_-Airplane with Eiffel Tower in the background drawn here-_

III

Alfred dangled his feet from the edge of the small hotel , yet luxurious hotel they were booked in for their stay in Paris. With a grin, he examined the whole city around him—the sun had set just a few minutes ago and the lights were starting to come on. Looking over his shoulder when he heard some footsteps, Alfred grinned further when he saw that it was Arthur. "Look at the sight Artie—they don't call it the City of Lights for no reason eh?" he asked as Arthur seated himself next to the American.

Arthur then hummed in response, dangling his feet over the edge as well. "It's nice," he remarked. He refused to speak what was actually on his mind, for he was too prideful.

"_Just_ nice?" Alfred asked, tilting his head to the side. Shaking his head with a chuckle, Alfred looked back out at the scenery before him. It was so cliché, but so beautiful—he began to wonder what Berlin was like and started regretting not sitting on the roof top of their hotel back in Madrid if it were allowed. Maybe he could sneak up if he's denied so. "Hah, I might actually miss this place!" Alfred grinned, leaning back on his elbows, the concrete and pebbles digging into them.

"And what makes you say that?" Arthur asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, it's kind of like our intermission or something ya know? Yeah, nothing really happened in Canada, but it was kinda boring there—don't _ever_ tell Mattie I said that. I mean, it's great here, weather's awesome, look at that damn scenery and we didn't really have to worry about Scott coming over to whoop our asses because he probably still thinks were in Spain…actually, he's probably picked wind of us being in France but whatever. And! The Bad Touch Trio officially started here!" he spread his arms wide as if to emphasize his point.

Arthur simply stared at Alfred blankly. "Uh…who's the Bad Touch Trio?" he then asked.

"Oh! Sorry about not tellin' ya that one Artie. It's just Frenchie, Billshit and Toni," Alfred grinned and Arthur snorted before looking down at the ground that seemed pretty far below for a seven story building.

"That's such a good name for those three that it's ridiculous," Arthur muttered and Alfred tugged him closer into his side.

"That's the point!" he grinned. Arthur smiled and shook his head before glancing back up at the scene displayed before them. Some photographers they _knew_ would do anything for a photo of them with this backdrop. Maybe the positions they were in now, pressed together and backs to the lens'.

"Hm. I think we should get going pretty soon," Arthur announced with a sigh. "Concert starts in just an hour, so we really should get going," he continued and Alfred huffed, calling him a killjoy in the process. Alfred then stood up, helped Arthur up and the two began walking for the door that led back inside.

III

They walked onto the stage to be met with probably the worst drumming they'd ever heard in their entire lives. Immediately reaching his hands up to cover his ears, Alfred glanced over to his left to find Gilbert at the drums, Matthew seated on a stool next to the rapper, a pair of rather expensive looking noise cancellers atop his head—his expression clearly reading 'my poor drum set'. A bit of a distance away, Francis was seated on top of an amplifier, the same pair of noise cancellers atop his head much like Matthew's. Poor Antonio seemed to have to endure the torture.

Noticing that they had arrived, Matthew sent the two messy haired blonds a pleading look as they approached him. Arthur knew he couldn't exactly talk with Matthew if he was wearing expensive noise canceller mainly because if they were expensive—they worked pretty well. Plus, Gilbert's horrible drum beat was already giving him a headache.

Placing a hand on Gilbert's shoulder, Arthur grinned eerily down at the rapper who was immediately creeped out and stopped. With a sigh of relief, Matthew removed the headphones and shook his head to fix his hair without having to use his hands. "Ugh, thanks Arthur…thought he was going to break them with how hard he was hitting them…" he thanked with a tired grin.

"Thank you! I thought I was going to start crying!" Antonio wailed from his spot on the ground which he had sunk down to. "My savior!"

"Shut up!" Gilbert barked, running in the Spaniard's direction. Antonio had to roll over and scamper away as Gilbert proceeded with chasing him. "My beats were amazing!" he continued.

Everyone followed up simultaneously with a: "No they weren't!"

Backstage, after rehearsals, Alfred watched with plenty of amusement as Matthew frustratingly fussed over some wires that needed immediate fixing since Gilbert had goofed up—again. It normally would've been an easy job, but the poor guy was only making it worse. Alfred snickered to himself and sighed happily, throwing an arm around Arthur's shoulder. "I feel bad for poor ol' Mattie…" he grinned.

Arthur cocked an eyebrow in wonder. "Why is that?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing~" he waved a hand in the air dismissively before glancing over at the Bad Touch Trio, finding Gilbert and Antonio laughing and talking rather loudly and Francis stuck in the middle, the noise cancellers back on his head. With a grin, he pat Arthur's cheek with the hand that was around said guitarist's shoulders. "I'm glad I have ya," he then pulled Arthur into a hug.

Still a bit in the dark with why Alfred was being so strange, Arthur simply let the American hug him affectionately. He glanced over at Kiku who was currently sitting alone, likely texting with Heracles who couldn't exactly make it that far in the tour. He could cover Canada, but that was basically it—family issues having brought him back to America. With a sigh, Arthur glanced back at Alfred. He sort of felt bad for Kiku—Heracles was always brought home rather early on tours, and with him being the guy operating the soundboard, they couldn't exactly be together much. In Canada he'd once spotted them nuzzling in the hallway and decided not to reveal himself, for the sight was just too sweet to jump in on. Alfred though, probably would've interrupted and even teased poor Kiku because he was just Alfred.

A smile stretching Kiku's lips before he held the phone out, snapped a picture and returned to texting.

**I am smiling. Don't worry.**

He just happened to spot the time in the upper corner to his phone and he noted that the concert was due to start any minute. He quickly sent a text to Heracles, telling him he had to go before pocketing his cellular and standing up. "A-ah, you two, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but we should be going out soon…" he smiled meekly.

"No prob Kiku," Alfred grinned, letting go of Arthur and standing up rather abruptly, making the British guitarist fall over. He began cussing Alfred out, but the American simply toned him out for the moment. "C'mon guys! Time to go out there! Mattie, quit raping the wires!" he called out, hands cupped around his mouth in hopes that it'd make his voice louder.

"I'm not _raping_ the wires dammit!" Matthew snapped. "They're just not untangling!" he continued. "None of the amplifiers will work unless I plug this one in too," he held up a wire that was currently unplugged. Alfred stared blankly at Matthew as Kiku made his way over, suggesting that he take over and that they just go out for now.

With an exasperated sigh, Matthew agreed, apologized for his mood and sulked away, a storm cloud over his head if it were possible.

The first song was Un Peu de Blues that Francis would sing. Kiku got his chance to play his keyboard in this as well, it set to sound like an organ. Alfred just stood aside and watched his band mates, Arthur on his navy blue guitar, humming into the microphone. Since Matthew couldn't exactly serve as backup (mostly because he could legitimately sound like a girl if he _really_ tried), Arthur had to do the humming in the song along with Alfred who had to go falsetto to achieve it.

That was then followed up with one of their new songs called Parlez Vous Français. Arthur and Francis had made it together with the help of Kiku—to sum it all up, it was basically a songified argument. Typical Arthur and Francis. At first it'd be in English, but then Francis would start mocking Arthur in French. Alfred had to keep himself from laughing his ass off—Arthur, even though he helped write the song, likely had no idea what Francis was saying. Looking over to Matthew, he'd spot his half-brother snickering at something Francis said every now and then as he created the beat for the song. Behind him, Gilbert and Antonio were making over exaggerated expressions, the Prussian pulling at the corner of his lips and sticking his tongue out as well as crossing his eyes. Why they were was currently a mystery—they were probably trying to get Arthur to laugh with all of the strange looks he was sending them.

Kiku opened their third song, it being We Found Love. Matthew was the singer for this one since Alfred felt that Matthew should sing. The American grinned at his Japanese video game buddy as he danced at his spot at his keyboard, eyes closed and currently enjoying the music they were creating. The down side to not having Matthew on the drums meant that _someone_ had to play on the drums. Francis obviously couldn't, Alfred refused to learn another instrument and Gilbert…well…they now knew the results. So Arthur had been stuck with Matthew the past few days, learning a simple drum beat that he picked up easily that was required for the song. Alfred had only one piece of feedback—Arthur was pretty damn sexy on the drums. Matthew looked like he was enjoying himself with the way he swayed to the music as well.

Their last song was Vert. It was basically a French version of Emerald Green the song they had first played at the concert in Florida on the day Arthur left for home back during their tour of America. Alfred had really wanted Arthur to hear the English version straight from him, but Francis had assured that since they were in France, they might as well translate it into French.

They concluded the song and earned an applause they normally received. Alfred grinned and blew kisses and Arthur smacked him upside the head, telling him not to act like Francis. So Alfred settled with simply waving happily at their audience, yelling a 'merci!' into the microphone.

Eventually the crowd had left and they were now at the part where they helped out the cleanup crew. Well…that's what Kiku was doing. Francis and Alfred were currently singing Me Love just because they could, Matthew playing the drumbeat to the song, yet refusing to watch the two dance. Arthur was likely doing the same thing, seated atop an amplifier and hiding his face in his hands, mentally telling himself not to watch Alfred and just get the cleaning up done with. He really wasn't getting anything done though. Gilbert was currently snickering at the two singing before glancing at Kiku who was struggling with an amplifier. "Heh…poor sucker's doing this all alone with the exception of cleanup."

"I'll go help him," Antonio immediately jumped up and trotted over to the Japanese keyboardist.

"I feel like, I'm drownin' in the ocean. Somebody come and take me away~!" Alfred and Francis sang simultaneously, Alfred hanging off of Francis as he leant back on the prolonged note for 'away'. They then jumped into the chorus.

"Dumb gits…don't look Arthur, you're just going to get distracted…" Arthur muttered darkly to himself.

Gilbert began snickering at the two again. He figured that they were just unknowingly teasing Matthew and Arthur.

XXXX

** Un Peu de Blues by **_Christophe Maé_

_ We Found Love by Rihanna_

_ Me Love by Sean Kingston_

_ Vert - Green_

** Gasp! Guess what? This story's approaching the end. O_O I never thought the day would come…I'm sad now…Short chapter is short. This is fail…I can't stop creating fillers for this damn story God…well, at least things will be picking up with Ivan stepping into the picture again :3 And then once all of that's straightened out...the story ends. O_O SO! Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends ;D**

**Fun Fact: The Australian sheep dog actually originated in America, not Australia. It was just common to have them sent over to Australia to herd sheep.**


	39. Chapter 39

** M'kay, first thing's first—am really sorry about the huge delay, I will no longer be updating on weekends because well…I just can't bring myself to do so if I don't have an outline written out beforehand and secondly, just had conferences and I was also drug off to my little brother's conference. :P So yeah, life's been a hassle lately too, had a friend over, had loads of fun and it inspired a new story that I want to type so maybe you could look forward to that? :) M'kay, enjoy ~;)**

**XXXX**

Gilbert grinned as he peered out the window to the private plane they were riding upon. They were currently flying over Berlin, due to land in a minute or two. "Ah, personally, I'd move out of America and here if I could~" he said, side glancing at Alfred who was sitting next to him. "Ah, and the buildings! None of them are midgets!" he grinned and Alfred snickered at his remark.

"So true dude," Alfred grinned, glancing out the window as well. "I like tall buildings."

"I'm sure you do~" Gilbert grinned before continuing so what he had just said wouldn't fully process in Alfred's mind. "Hey! I think we should get creative with the stages here no? I mean, you guys are awesome and all, not as awesome as me of course, but you don't really do anything fun with the stages don't you?"

"Uh…you mean like Lady Gaga?" Alfred furrowed his eyebrows and Gilbert made a 'so-so' motion with his hand.

"Uh, sorta, here, I've got a picture of one of the concerts I had here a few months ago," Gilbert fished out a paper that looked like a torn out page to a magazine. He showed it to Alfred who examined the photo printed onto the thin paper. There were two cages suspended by chains, Lovino and his drum set in one and Antonio rocking out on his guitar on the one opposite to Lovino's. There was then another in between the two, also suspended by chains, though a bit lower to the ground and Feliciano was in it, a rather focused look set on his face as he played his guitar. Gilbert and Ludwig were then standing on what looked like a hollow cylinder with how it was see through, Gilbert holding the microphone close to him mouth, looking extremely confident and Ludwig in the standstill position of just striking a chord.

"Whoa, that's some crazy stuff there," Alfred pointed out.

"Yeah, that concert was when we did quite a bit of metal music and crazy rock shit that was totally awesome so we had the stage fit the theme of music we were playing, get it?" Gilbert grinned, stuffing the paper back into his bag. "So whatever the hell you guys are going to play, which I think will obviously not be that kind of stuff, you should have some crazy stuff, like you know that thing Ludwig and I were standing on? You should have those too, just have like, rectangles cut out so you can see into it, I dunno, it came to me one day," Gilbert waved a hand in the air.

"I know what you're talking about! I could draw it too, Artie said I'm a good drawer," Alfred grinned, pulling out his notebook. The two proceeded with sketches of possible stage set ups The United Nations could do in the future.

"Oh! Girders could be suspended and you guys could stand on 'em, like, of course there'd be safety things like it actually being thicker than it looks and stuff!"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome, hah, but Mattie's afraid of heights…"

"Don't worry! You can have him on the lowest one since he's the drummer—oh! I gotta good idea! How about like, big elongated cubes that come up from the ground and they could make them look hollow too!"

"Dude, I think large support beams would be cool! Like, they're not actually upright, but they're kinda leaned to the side just enough to make standing comfortable and we can have like, three crisscrossed and we each could be at different heights."

"That'd be cool—hey, you know you're not supposed to have your phone out?"

"Yup. I like violating rules."

Arthur closed the World Series magazine and placed it into his bag, glancing over to Matthew who was seated next to him. "So, how're things going for you? You seem kind of troubled."

"O-oh, it's nothing!" was Matthew's seemingly hurried reply. "I-I guess I'm just worried about Ivan and all! Eheheheh…" he continued, not exactly convincing Arthur, but it was plausible. They were bound to bump into Ivan sooner or later in between the time span of arriving in Berlin and leaving said capital.

"Are you sure? E-eh…sorry if it's kind of personal, but Alfred said it's sexual frustration…"

"What the hell gave him that idea?" Matthew barked, clearly irritated and turning dark red and Arthur flinched back slightly.

"Sorry, Al's just the assuming type as you know…" Arthur muttered, backing away as far as he could in his seated position as Matthew sulked and glared at him at the same time. "A-anyway…are you all good on the songs we're planning for the concert tonight? I-I could help if you're still having a few problems with some songs…" he offered. God, who the hell taught Matthew such a creepy expression? It was scaring even Arthur…

"Boom baby!" Alfred barked abruptly, standing up and throwing his hands high above his head, having almost tossed his phone in the process. "Totally guys! Guess what? Feliciano and Ludwig are finally together! And it was Feli who took the step! Ha, ha! I'm the hero!"

"And I'm awesome 'cause I helped!"

"You did not!" Alfred grinned, smacking Gilbert atop his head with his phone. "Anyways! Now that that's off of our heads, we can have a good time in Berlin!" that part seemed a bit strained.

"Alfred sit down!" Arthur barked.

"Whew…man, I didn't expect Feli to take the step though," he grinned, obeying Arthur's demand. "He isn't exactly that type from the outside."

"Oh? Did I hear about Feliciano and Ludwig finally getting together? Oh, that's a good thing, maybe I should go back and swoop Lovi off of his feet~" Antonio grinned, getting up onto his knees so that he could peer around at the others. Francis did the same next to Antonio, grinning at the Spaniard.

"Oh really? Are you sure he'll even let you within a five hundred foot radius of him?" he joked and Antonio playfully jabbed his friend in the ribs with his elbow.

"Hush up, he secretly loves me~"

"Doubt it~"

"Oh, and like you're any better?"

"Excuse moi? Duh I am!"

"Oh come on, you're _too _affectionate! I mean, it's repulsive!"

"Aww, that's such a mean thing to say, I think I'm going to start crying Antonio."

"Ha, ha, that's right, weep beggar."

"Baaw—wait, did you want real tears? Sorry, no can do~"

"Oh whatever at least the Spanish aren't pussies like you French."

"No way. They were just unprepared."

"Ha, ha, almighty Spain will conquer the world!"

"With France at his side~!"

"And Prussia! Though I doubt France will be any help…"

"Will too! And Prussia isn't even a country!"

"Oh, you want a piece of me Frenchie? C'mon! I'm right over here! Fist fight right now!"

"That isn't even fair, I'm handicapped in that subject!"

"And a total wimp when it comes to physical awesomeness!"

"Alright! Fine, let's get this thing started—you and me!"

"Hell yeah! I'll rape you too when I'm done beating your brains out!"

"All three of you sit your asses in your seats!" Arthur barked and all three did so whilst snickering to themselves. "God, those guys are just…ugh," he sighed, raking a hand through his choppy blond hair. "Sometimes I wonder."

III

Once they got settled into the hotel, they were planning on just walking around Berlin and enjoy their time as being not so popular and recognizable at first until all of that was ruined by tonight's concert. They were to meet in the lobby and go with who they felt like going with around the capital city.

Arthur didn't exactly expect to find Alfred, Gilbert and Matthew standing atop the cushioned chairs out in the lobby, throwing their own little concert that was quickly gaining attention. Alfred and Gilbert were singing Deutschland while Matthew was creating the beat to it via beat boxing, something he rarely did now these days. "Ugh…Al must've given Matthew something…"

Antonio then approached, looking questionable and stopped next to the British guitarist, about ready to ask a question when he was halted from doing so. "Don't even ask, I have no clue," Arthur deadpanned, raising a hand in a 'halt' gesture as the three started a different song, Fugidinha.

"Ah? What is going on here?" Francis then asked as he approached both guitarists. Antonio and Arthur simply shrugged their shoulders as Gilbert and Alfred began the wordless vocalizing to the song. "Hm, they're good at that, am still surprised whenever Gilbert sings. You always think rappers aren't exactly the best singers in the world."

"I can agree with you there amigo," Antonio agreed, nodding his head. "Yes, very good, how many different languages has Alfred sung in? Just curious because he seems to know quite a bit unless Gilbert introduced these to him."

"Uh…four. Five if you include some Japanese songs Kiku's planning on writing for Alfred."

"Oh, he should totally write a song for Alfred about hamburgers..." Francis snickered. "Hamburger Street…that sounds like him…"

"Actually, that _does_ sound like him. Kudos Francis," Antonio grinned, clapping his hands together in congrats. Arthur could simply roll his eyes and look back at the three throwing their own little performances atop nice chairs. They could at least have the decency of throwing it somewhere else…

"Is everyone ready?" Kiku asked as he approached the three guitarists. "Oh? What are those three doing?"

"We're assuming they're just spoiling the songs to the concert tonight for everyone," Francis shrugged his shoulders. "I think they're going to be stuck here for a while."

"Yeah, hey Kiku, why don't you come with me? I don't really want to hang out with these two, so why not?" Arthur offered and the Japanese keyboardist smiled and nodded his head as Antonio and Francis gave Arthur hurt expressions that were obviously fake.

The two left the lobby as the three started Ai Se Eu Te Pego.

"It kind of feels weird to be around buildings taller than seven stories again…" Kiku pointed out as they walked down the sidewalk in the middle of the city. Arthur chuckled at the statement and agreed with his Japanese friend. "So…will we just shop for whatever?"

"Yeah, I think that's fine, maybe find some lunch while we're at it."

Back at in the lobby to the hotel, Antonio and Francis had yet to leave the now crowded scene of curious people. The three were now singing The Foreign Language Song, Alfred swaying to the song as he sang, having found a pair of sunglasses. For some reason, they really fit the song. "Hah, yup, those three are using all of the songs for the concert tonight," Francis sighed, shaking his head. "Spoilers…"

"Ah, I guess they can't help it. Hey, I didn't know Matthew was a beat boxer," Antonio the pointed out.

"Yeah, that's very likely. He doesn't really seem like the type to be into that kind of stuff," Francis grinned almost proudly. "I think we sang a song acapella style and he was our beat boxer for that, tabloids went crazy over that one for some reason."

"I can imagine, he's kind of introverted and just…he doesn't seem like it," Antonio agreed. "And for some reason, a multilingual Alfred isn't hard to imagine…"

"Yeah, as you already know, he's like, the start student in his Spanish class…yeah, it isn't really hard to imagine, I don't know why…"

"Let's say he's just Alfred," Antonio grinned and Francis returned the gesture.

"Yeah. He's just Alfred."

"Oh? It seems we share the same hotel da~?" both Francis and Antonio snapped their heads in the direction of the voice behind and slightly above them to come face to face with Ivan.

"Oh, b-bonjour Ivan…" Francis stuttered.

"S-si, si…hola Ivan…" Antonio stuttered as well. He and To The West had experienced a close encounter with Ivan back when they were touring Europe a few months ago. It was something Antonio didn't exactly want to remember at the moment.

"No need to look so nervous you two, I don't bite~" Ivan's smile was friendly, but the atmosphere around him was anything but. Francis and Antonio both swore they could see a dark purple and black aura floating around the Russian bass guitarist, and it was creeping them the fuck out.

"Whew, haven't beat boxed in a while. Maybe I should do th—Omph!" Matthew was cut short when Francis tackled him off of the couch like chair, wailing about something in French that Alfred couldn't understand at all, barely able to catch a few things since he knew Spanish. Antonio then came barreling in as well, rapid firing Spanish and literally, on the verge of tears.

"English you two! It's better if both Al and I can understand you!" Matthew barked, attempting to pry Francis off of his waist which the French teen had latched himself onto.

"Ivan…" the two wept simultaneously and Alfred immediately frowned at the name. Gilbert involuntarily shivered at the name, remembering the close encounter he and To The West had with the Russian.

"You two are such wusses~" Ivan laughed in a seemingly gleeful way as he stepped closer to the group. Francis immediately hid behind Matthew, sobbing about not wanting his other arm broken while Antonio hid behind Alfred, Gilbert mentally telling himself that he was too awesome for cowering.

Ivan continued to smile while Alfred held the opposite of said facial feature. "Привет Alfred~"

XXXX

**Привет**** - Hello**

**Deutschland by Die Prinzen**

**Fugidinha by Michel Tel****ó**

**Hamburger Street by Hetalia (still don't exactly know who to give credit to)**

**Ai Se Eu Te Pego by ****Michel Tel****ó**

**The Foreign Language Song by Gunnarrola**

**Kyaa! Thank you Germany for inventing the Dachshund! I love mine so much! She's just snuggled up to my side right now and is really warm and I lurve her so muuuch~**

** Bum, bum, bum, looks like Ivan's here. Lol, I actually really like him because of how funny the reactions he gets from other people…oh God, they're so funny. Oh, and I love it when he got depressed over his sisters being weird and Englands like "Oh no! Russia's upset about something! This must mean something very scary is about to happen!" Oh man, that was just too good. Especially when he said "So weird…" the fourth (?) time and tipped off to the side unrealistically. That was funny. XD Well, I better shut up before I say anything else that will launch me into a rant so uh…please review, I hope you didn't lose interest in this due to my absence and peace out my friends~!**

**Fun Fact: You're brain, according to NASA, is as soft as tofu.**


	40. Chapter 40

** One or two more chapters after this one. I know right? We're almost done here. God, it feels like I was just typing the first chapter yesterday…with Alfred being one to barge into other people's houses without permission and having them hang fliers…I think I even spelled fliers, 'flyers' in the first chapter…that's kind of embarrassing…So yeah. Get ready for some Ivan. Enjoy~**

**XXXX**

Alfred took a few steps forward before stopping so that he was within arm's length of Ivan, who continued to smile slightly down at him. "…What?" Ivan asked, tilting his head innocently to the side. Alfred's eyebrows furrowed and he thought over what he was going to do.

"You're being a jackass," he deadpanned and the smile upon Ivan's face immediately disappeared. There was a long moment of nothing, just glaring at each other as Ivan's mood became sour.

"And why do you say that?" he challenged, taking a step closer to Alfred who subconsciously took a steep back at the same time.

"You should know what I'm talking about!" Alfred barked bitterly.

"Now, now, what happened to the Alfred that liked me?" Ivan asked. Alfred couldn't tell if Ivan actually was hurt, or was feigning it. It was likely the latter, because Ivan didn't seem like one to easily be hurt. "Our last two encounters were fine."

"The second one was _not_ fine," Alfred huffed, the party he and Arthur had argued at flashing into his mind before he focused completely on the task at hand. "And I never liked you!"

Outside, Kiku and Arthur had turned around and were heading back to the hotel, Kiku having forgotten something. It was silent in between the two and they weren't exactly expecting much as they entered the heavily populated lobby. Arthur looked over to where Alfred, Gilbert and Matthew were having their own fun just in time to see Ivan throw a right hook, getting Alfred good on the jaw. The American hit the ground and remained there.

"Hey! What gave you the damn right to do that?" Matthew exploded angrily, lunging forward only to be held back by Francis.

"Please don't fight with him! I just, I can tell he's really violent!" Francis begged as Antonio panicked next to him, trying to reason with Matthew in Spanish.

"Get off Francis, I can handle him, _let go!_" Matthew demanded and managed to wiggle out of Francis's one armed grasp. It probably would've been a bit harder if Francis could use both of his arms. Matthew then looked at Ivan, prepping himself to throw himself into a fight when Arthur flew in, getting Ivan good on the cheekbone. He jumped forward as well and attacked Ivan.

"C-c'mon pussy! You're friends are getting their asses whooped again!" Gilbert nervously yelled at Francis before jumping off of the chair he was standing on and joined the fighting. Francis looked desperately over at Kiku who looked torn in between interfering and doing nothing.

"No sé que hacer Francis!" Antonio whined, glancing just as desperately at Francis. "I don't want to fight Ivan!" he continued fearfully.

Ivan backhanded Arthur pretty good, the Briton stumbling backwards before tripping over his own feet and landing on his back and side, knocking his head on the ground pretty hard. The Russian then lifted a foot to stomp down on the British guitarist when Matthew jumped in the take the hit, crying out in pain when something popped in his knee. He managed to keep his footing and threw a punch only to be beaten to it, Ivan managing to get him square in the face before he could land a blow, glasses being crushed from the gloved fist.

Alfred groaned and shook his head, feeling at his face to find that his glasses weren't on his face. He glanced up at the blurry, but still distinguishable scene before him. Matthew just got his face pounded in and his glasses fell off, completely totaled. Gritting his teeth, Alfred forced himself up and took a shaky step forward before someone grabbed his wrist. "Hey, we have to stop!"

"Back away Francis! If you can't stomach this, back off!" he snapped, taking some precious time to glare at the French guitarist. Antonio was glancing fearfully at Alfred, fiddling with his hands. Antonio slightly panicked when Ivan threw and punch and having seen it coming since Alfred was taking his time glaring at him, Francis spun them around in a rather bold move and took the knock to the head, falling to his knees.

"Quit ignoring me!" Gilbert demanded, charging at Ivan. The Russian kicked Francis in the head to make sure he was fully on the ground before turning around to face Gilbert, catching the punch the Prussian threw and fitting in a nice uppercut, making the rapper bit down on his tongue. Alfred jumped in to defend his friend, managing to get himself in between Gilbert and Ivan.

"Bring it on!"

III

Unfortunately, all but Kiku and Antonio landed in the hospital.

Arthur was still out cold from being hit in the head hard, twice. Matthew was told he'd have two more weeks in another wheelchair, which broke the poor drummer's heart. He had immediately went to sulking. Francis needed an X-ray of his skull and his arm, his head as a just in case and his arm because he'd landed on it. Gilbert was currently sulking in his hospital bed with quite a few bruises and a horribly swollen tongue. He refused to talk with a swollen tongue.

Alfred was currently sitting at Arthur's bedside, holding his boyfriend's hand as his forehead was rested on the bed sheets, staring down at his phone as he texted Yao about their misfortunes. He looked up in hopes of finding Arthur awake before sighing in defeat and looking back down at his phone, awaiting a reply. It seems that every physical fight they got into, they were bound to lose. Twice against Scott, and now against Ivan.

With a sigh, Alfred kissed the palm of Arthur's hand before Gilbert came storming in—looks like he's been let out of his bed for the current moment. He really seemed like he wanted to say something, but remained silent, his swollen tongue making speech too embarrassing. "So…how're you?"

Gilbert glared at Alfred who couldn't help but grin. "Yoo jus eyin' oo et me oo thak bastah…" he muttered and Alfred snorted humorously, the moment too good to pass up. He shook his head, though he couldn't force down his snickering which made Gilbert's mood even darker. "Shuh up yoo ick," he snapped, wincing as he bit his swollen tongue.

"You're hopeless," Alfred snickered and Gilbert simply intensified his glare at the American.

III

Francis had managed to sneak out of his hospital room and find Matthew's without getting caught. Matthew had glanced solemnly at the French guitarist as he pulled a chair up to his bedside with a tired sigh, rubbing his head. "Hey Francis…" Matthew muttered.

"…Hey. Why're you so down?"

"I'm back in a wheelchair," Matthew deadpanned and Francis flinched slightly. "Yeah, I know," the Canadian muttered miserably, glancing at his leg. "…H-hey, come here," Matthew muttered, cheeks turning a bit red in the cheeks. Francis did so and Matthew closed the gap in between them, pressing his lips against his boyfriend's. Unfortunately, Francis winced and shoved himself away from the Canadian, confusing the poor drummer who for a moment, had the terrifying thought of Francis not exactly liking him anymore flash through his head.

"I-I, sorry mon cher…my arm isn't exactly fit for supporting myself at the moment," Francis muttered, glancing down at his arm that was currently in a sling. Relief immediately washed over Matthew and he smiled sympathetically at Francis. "You should be the one leaning forward."

"My knee wouldn't exactly allow that either," Matthew muttered, shoulders drooping once he concluded that now, they couldn't even kiss each other. Hugging was probably also going to be pretty hard. God, talk about withdrawal. "The concert tonight's obviously going to be postponed…God, we're probably upsetting a lot of people…not only here, but this also happened in Spain…" Matthew sighed, shaking his head as he reached forward and took ahold of Francis's good hand. "I don't want to be back in a wheelchair…"

"We aren't attracting the best of luck aren't we?"

III

The concert had in fact been postponed last night and all but Matthew and Francis had been discharged. Alfred, Arthur, Gilbert, Kiku and Antonio were currently sitting atop the hotel they were staying in during their stay in Berlin. The sun was starting to set and the two that were still in the hospital would be discharged tomorrow if Francis's X-rays said he was fine. "I wonder what it's like to watch the sunset in a rural area…" Arthur mulled.

"Same, we've just been to so many cities, you kinda want to go to some small place ya know?" Alfred grinned, hugging Arthur closer to his chest and nuzzling his nose into Arthur's hair. "Man guys…I have no idea what to do…"

"About Ivan?"

"About Ivan," Alfred nodded his head. "He just…rubs me the wrong way."

"We can tell," Arthur huffed, looking up at his American boyfriend. "How about we try approaching him civilly?" he then suggested, voice matter-of-fact. Alfred huffed, obviously not liking the idea.

"I tried."

"Well from what I walked in on, it didn't seem like you tried too hard at that," Arthur muttered, reaching up to toy with a strand of Alfred's wheat blond hair.

"Ivan said that we share the same hotel, so we could try again later…" Antonio suggested nervously, fiddling with his phone. He then looked back down at the screen and grinned before replying to the text he had received. He was probably texting with Lovino at the moment. "I mean, he did tell Francis and I," he continued.

"…Fine, I'll try it in a bit tonight. God, it really sucks that Mattie's back in a wheelchair…" he muttered. Alfred didn't want to confront Ivan, but he knew he'd have to eventually. And toning it down would probably keep them from getting into another fist fight. Hopefully Arthur could keep them from getting into another fight, though Alfred doubted it for the Briton had jumped into the fight. He assumed. "Guh…this really sucks. I really wish we were a bit more normal."

"And what do you mean by normal?" Gilbert questioned, tongue still sore from being bitten, though, no longer swollen to the point of making speech incoherent. "I'd assume that you were already kind of strange before all of this happened…"

"He _was_ strange before all of this," Arthur muttered, grinning despite his tone.

"Oh come on, don't take their side!" Alfred whined, squeezing Arthur in his arms. "You're supposed to always take my side!" he continued and Arthur simply smiled humorously. A long silence followed, the five simply enjoying the night air and the city noises.

"I think you should go talk to Ivan pretty soon Al," Arthur announced, patting Alfred's wrist which was resting on his abdomen. Alfred grunted in clear disapproval and nuzzled Arthur's hair.

"I don't wanna…"

"Come on, I'll come too," Arthur sighed, wiggling out of Alfred's arms and standing up. "Come on Alfred," he sighed when Alfred didn't stand up with him. "Nothing will happen if you don't do anything about it."

"I know, I know…" Alfred sighed, standing up as well. "I guess I'll see you guys later then," he waved down at Antonio, Gilbert and Kiku, who now looked a little awkward since he's with two people that are from a different band. Turning around, Alfred and Arthur headed for the stair well. "God, I'm _not_ looking forward to this…"

"I'm not exactly looking forward to it either, but it's better if we just get it over with," Arthur replied, lacing his fingers in between Alfred's. "Just ignore your anger and just talk."

"That's going to be hard," Alfred grinned at Arthur who simply bopped him on the side of his head with a humored smile. The two fell silent as they went down to the lobby to ask for Ivan's room number. They were given it and headed straight for the sixth floor.

Eventually, Alfred and Arthur found themselves in front of a door, the room number in silver lettering on a plaque since their hotel was a fancy one. Arthur glanced expectantly at Alfred who was staring at the peep-hole just as expectantly before sighing and reaching out to knock on the door—it was a harder task that he had originally assumed. A moment passed before the door was opened, and Ivan was now towering over the two. "Da? Oh, it's you Alfred. Come to apologize~?"

"Why the hell should I apologi—ow!" Alfred was cut off when Arthur jammed an elbow in the side of his ribs. Muttering darkly to himself as he rubbed the now sore spot, Alfred tried his hardest not to glare up at Ivan. "Ugh…no, I haven't come to apologize," he ground out. "Just…here to talk, that's all."

"Oh is that so? Good, good, come on in then," Ivan offered, smiling in a friendly way as he stepped aside and held the door open further. Alfred twitched and Arthur's shoulders drooped—he didn't expect for Ivan to invite them in. Despite how he acted, Ivan scared Arthur quite a bit, Alfred seemed to be the only one unfazed by the Russian bass guitarist.

The two eventually stepped in hesitantly. Ivan led them to a set of chairs that was in the hotel room he was booked in before seating himself on the edge of one of the two beds. He grinned, "It seems I've left quite a few marks on you~" it was more of a statement than anything else. The two blonds grunted in irritation.

"Eheh…yeah, you sure did," Arthur forced a fake grin on. "A-anyways…we were here to talk to you about Yao and—"

"Oh, so you came about him? Sorry, I already told him and Alfred that I don't like him," Ivan waved a hand in the air as if it were no problem and Arthur twitched, the nerve of this guy! He wasn't even considering Yao's feelings! Nonetheless the fact that he and Alfred were currently in a rather stable relationship!

"Are you kidding me?" Alfred barked, slamming his hands down on the small, round table that the chairs were pushed up to. "He's—" he continued only to be cut off by Arthur who calmly grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him back down onto his bottom.

"I told you Alfred, keep your anger in check. We can't exactly get into a physical confrontation at the moment," he muttered, subconsciously rubbing the swollen, yet deflating bump on his head. Alfred huffed and took a deep breath before returning to simply glaring at Ivan. "Ivan, can't you consider everyone else's deals instead of just your own?"

"I don't care about that Yao guy. And I don't care if you and Alfred over there are in a relationship—I get what I want," Ivan grinned eerily and Arthur shivered slightly, becoming uncomfortable. "Anything else you need to inform me of?"

"Well, other than the fact that I'm not going to let you get in between Artie and I and Yao still wanting to be with you even after rejection, no. I have nothing else to say," Alfred muttered, standing up and turning to leave. Arthur gave Ivan the boldest glare he could before standing up hastily and following after the American. Ivan frowned and stared after the two as the door to his hotel room was shut quietly.

At first, he had assumed that Alfred was playing matchmaker and that Yao wasn't a determined guy, but from what he'd just heard, Yao really did want to get into something with him. But Yao was too small, was an epic failure at Russian and just wasn't his type.

Alfred and Arthur walked down the hallway in a stiff silence, Alfred on his cell phone at the current moment.

"I'm having him come over," Alfred announced and Arthur sent him a confused glance.

"Who?"

"Yao," Alfred sighed. "He said yes, that he'll come over and try to sort things out with us about Ivan and all of that shit…" he shook his head and snapped his phone shut. "Ivan obviously didn't think Yao was being serious from what I saw in there."

"How?" Arthur cocked an eyebrow. "All he was doing was grinning in an eerie way that kind of scared even me…" he continued in a mutter. "God, that guy is merciless."

"Didn't you see it? That weird look in his eyes that was all like: 'you're not being serious, ha, ha, you're so funny' and stuff like that? Plus, I think brining Yao over would help a bit," Alfred crossed his arms and nodded his head before letting one fall to his side and take hold of Arthur's hand. "He'll be here tomorrow morning."

"Oh, that makes sense and no, I didn't see it. I was too busy trying not to flee," Arthur joked and Alfred grinned at his boyfriend, clapping him on the shoulder after letting go of Arthur's hand.

"Like an Italian?"

"Like an Italian."

III

"No, no, I'm truly sorry about getting you back into a wheelchair…" Yao apologized. Once he had arrived and got a room booked in the same hotel as Alfred and apparently Ivan, Yao had immediately spotted the differences from the last time he saw The United Nations. Alfred and Arthur both looked pretty bruised up, Francis had an arm in a sling and Matthew was again, stuck in a wheelchair. Kiku was the only one untouched by the fight that had happened from what Alfred had told him.

"No need to apologize Yao, I decided to get into the fight and I'm taking punishment for doing so…" Matthew muttered, glancing down at his knee. "Wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do as you can see."

"Aww, c'mon Mattie, it showed that you've got guts," Alfred grinned, clapping his half-brother on the shoulder. Matthew simply rolled his eyes instead of verbally responding. "So Yao, I think you should just go try to talk with Ivan again and whatnot. I mean, even though he's a huge dick, I'm sure he'll understand or something…hopefully…"

"You didn't sound very convincing there," Arthur pointed out and Alfred shushed him. Yao smiled gratefully at his friends shoved his hands into his pockets, becoming nervous.

"Yeah…that's a good idea. I'll go talk to him and well…if he doesn't want to then we should just leave him alone…"

"That last part probably isn't such a great idea since he's threatening our relationship from what I'm observing," Arthur pointed out. "And plus, being a bit determined might help you. I mean, he does sound really sure of himself, but he might not be completely one hundred percent about everything…"

Yao took a moment to be silent before sighing. "…Fine. I'll go by your rules."

"Whoa! You're making us sound like bad guys!" Alfred piped, holding his hands up in a harmless gesture.

"No, no! I just didn't have any other way to phrase it at the moment!" Yao panicked and Alfred sighed in relief, Arthur shaking his head at the two. "So…yeah, I'll go talk to him right now," Yao then announced, turning to leave.

"Be firm!" Alfred informed with a wide grin and Yao waved back at him without looking at the American. "And don't give in if he says no! Determination always works!"

"Shut up Alfred and let Yao do what he thinks he should do," Arthur huffed and Alfred pulled him into a tight hug.

"Artie will be worrying about you for me!"

"Alfred shut up!"

XXXX

**Hm. I don't know whether I should say there's one or two more chapters after this one. So bleh. Gwah! I love HetaOni so much! I don't know what got me to absolutely love it again, but I know I do right now! God just…I mean, seeing your friends die over and over and then having them see their friends die is just so sad, but such an amazing idea…Maybe I should write a oneshot off of that. It's such a beautiful thing too! ;A; It's…it's…phenominazing! Yush, new word just invented here suckers, start using it now, 'cause I'm awesome. So yup! Please review and peace our my phenominazing friends~!**

**Fun Fact: Venus is the only known planet that spins clockwise.**


	41. Chapter 41

** Ugh…for some reason it's really hard to breathe right now…I better not be having a lung problem…**

** Well. This is the last chapter. I'm sorry. I know right? ;A; It's over. And I don't even think this story's going to end well. I mean like, I won't like how it turns out. So yeah. I love you all for reviewing and the such and such~! I never thought I'd ever have a story above twenty chapters and supporting over 250 reviews (even though that's just six people a chapter)~! **

** …This chapter will be short. I can guarantee it. –Goes to sulk in a corner- This ending's just going to flop…**

**XXXX**

He had found Ivan's hotel room rather quickly and was soon sitting in one of the chairs in said room, nervously watching the Russian bass guitarist straightening out his room. Yao had been trying to build up enough courage to speak up to the slightly intimidating silver haired musician ever since he'd first walked through the door. Ivan then stopped what he was doing and stared at the wall in front of him. "I didn't think you were determined about this."

"What?" Yao asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "I-I don't get what you're saying…"

"Just…being here or something, I don't know how to explain it," Ivan waved a hand in the air in a slightly dismissive fashion. Yao understood though.

"Of course I'd be determined about something like this," he remarked, the firm tone his voice held shocking him. A silence followed along with the nervous awkwardness that had been eating away at the Chinese musician not too long ago. He eventually caved in and stood up, shaking his head. "Never mind, I'll leave."

Yao turned for the door when Ivan grabbed ahold of his wrist, keeping him from continuing. Nervously, Yao turned to look at the Russian who was staring at him rather apathetically. "No, you stay," he deadpanned and Yao could only nod his head numbly. He seated himself back on the bed and watched Ivan return with his task of cleaning up his hotel room—he was probably leaving Germany pretty soon.

Ivan finally slowed and smiled at Yao. "I like that determination," he then decided and Yao raised his eyebrows in baffled interest. A moment passed and Yao smiled brightly at the complement, opening his mouth to say something in return. "It's too bad I don't like everything else," Ivan cut in, crushing Yao's hopes. The Chinese boy immediately deflated and shut his mouth, no longer feeling the need to say what he was going to say.

They sat in another silence, though this time, Ivan wasn't cleaning. He looked like he was thinking something over before turning his attention to Yao, a determined look on his face. "Come here, I want to try something."

Yao gulped, not exactly liking how that sounded giving who Ivan was and hesitantly slid off of the edge of the bed and slunk over to the Russian. "And what is it you wa—" he was cut off when Ivan pulled him closer and pressed his lips onto his. Yao grunted in surprise, and was too shocked to respond to the action and before he knew it, Ivan had pulled away, an eyebrow cocked.

"Hm. I guess I like your taste," he grinned and Yao blushed heavily. "I never really liked Asian food, but you're an exception," he continued and Yao muttered under his breath, rubbing at his upper arm. He really wished that he had snapped out of his stupor and kissed back.

"So…"

"Okay, it's decided, I'll try something with you," Ivan smiled and Yao blinked. He probably looked really dumb at the moment with how unresponsive he was being.

"…Can…can we do that again…?"

"Oh fine," Ivan grinned, rolling his eyes and pulling Yao closer to him once more. Yao was a bit confused when he wasn't kissed and just held in an embrace by Ivan. Looking up, he first realized that Ivan's eyes were a shade of…purple? Ivan must've seen his eyebrows furrow, for he chuckled and ruffled Yao's hair. "Yes, these aren't contacts."

"It's kind of like that Gilbert guy…and Arthur if you consider that shade of green unnatural," Yao mulled. Ivan pat Yao on the head once more before bending down finally, to capture the Chinese boy's lips in his own. Yao hummed in content into the kiss and responded this time. He really hoped Ivan decided to keep the relationship alive in the future. He didn't want to go running to Alfred again.

III

Alfred was, at the current moment, laughing his ass off because of Gilbert's, according to him, 'legit' Prussian accent. The rapper didn't have one, but was a phenomenal impersonator. They were currently hanging out in the lobby, it being their favorite place to hang out other than the rooftop.

Gilbert grinned broadly and snickered. "Dude, I don't see what's so funny about it," he said as he watched Alfred continue with his laughing fit, Arthur looking utterly embarrassed sitting next to his boyfriend.

They turned when they saw Yao approaching, looking content, a slight bounce in his step. Alfred managed to calm himself down and turned around as well, throwing an arm around the back of the chair. "So, how'd it go?" he asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Yao smiled at his American friend and stopped behind the chair Alfred was seated in. "He said he'd try something with me."

"Totally! Alright guys! Time to celebrate!" Alfred barked happily, jumping up from his seat. "Congratulations Wang-Man!" Alfred grinned, throwing an arm around Yao's shoulder and pulling the musician into a one armed hug. Gilbert mirrored Alfred's gesture, though on the other side of the Chinese boy.

"Yeah dude! You overcame the super-scary Ivan!" he congratulated and Alfred snickered with a 'so true'.

"Come on Artie! We can all celebrate by storming this city!" Alfred grinned at his boyfriend who huffed and crossed his arms.

"No thanks…"

"Aww, you're no fun…" Alfred pouted, finally letting an awkward feeling Yao go. He then pulled Arthur into a tight hug. "Please? For Wang-Man? Please? I swear, we're gonna have a lot of fun!" he tried again and Arthur muttered under his breath as he was being squeezed by his boyfriend.

"I'll join you~!" Francis offered, raising his good hand and Gilbert whooped at the addition to their 'party'. Antonio soon decided to join in and it was only Matthew, Kiku and Arthur left to make a decision.

"No, I'll stay here," Matthew declined the offer Alfred gave him through his eyes. "I…don't want to end up in the tabloids," he chuckled and shook his head. "So yeah, no thanks," he concluded and Alfred along with Francis pouted.

"I told you, I'm staying here," Arthur huffed and Kiku agreed with the British guitarist.

"Fine! We'll have epic fun without you party poopers!" Alfred huffed, and grabbed ahold of Yao's wrist. "Tally-ho! Let's go guys!" he cheered, dragging the Chinese musician off, Gilbert, Francis and Antonio following behind enthusiastically.

Arthur, Matthew and Kiku watched as Yao sent them a helpless look, though here still was a ghost of a smile on his lips before being pulled through the doors. Arthur smiled and shook his head, he couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Yao, having to endure Alfred and the Bad Touch Trio.

So, he'd come to America for the first time in years to visit Alfred only to be pulled into some crazy adventure of being in a band. He fell in love with Alfred too. Actually, he'd probably like him like that for a very long time, probably before he moved to England.

Matthew had gotten hit by a car and they had some epic complications with Gilbert. Ivan stepped in and caused even more, but then again, in the end, he picked up Yao, who they'd met at the music conference they'd performed a duet at. They had a tour of America where they'd gotten together before having another epic complication via Ivan yet again. They'd fixed things up though.

Arthur then went home after all of that and he and Alfred would talk over the phone. The United Nations then came over to London to perform and to be honest, Arthur hadn't been expecting that, so seeing Alfred at his door was kind of a shock. They went back home and they talked over the phone some more, the problem with Yao and Ivan arising around that time. They were then thrown into a world tour that they were now halfway through, having Italy, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia left after this. Not much happened in between then and the tour of America though.

"God, we've been through so much once you really think about it…" Arthur grinned at Matthew.

"Yup. I got hit by a car and became the Wheelchair Ninja to name one thing," Matthew muttered and Arthur smiled at the nickname Alfred had given Matthew long ago.

"He's stopped calling me Iggy lately."

"Do you miss it?" Matthew asked and Alfred immediately shook his head.

"Nah, not really," he was kind of lying though, but Matthew didn't need to know that. "Let's see, Gilbert is known as Gilbort and Billshit."

"I like that one," Matthew snickered.

They fell silent and just stared at the door Alfred had drug Yao out of. They obviously weren't done with this whole band thing and obviously still had some obstacles ahead of them, but at the current moment, things were going pretty smoothly.

Dare he compare themselves to the Stock Market?

**XXXX**

** Yup, epic failure here. This story just flopped after the performance in London I think. It's just really bleh. To be truthful, I like 'Flying's His Thing' better than this now. So yeah. Again, thank you all for supporting this story~! Please review, love to hear what you have to say and peace out my friends~**

**Fun Fact: A wolf's howl, in the open tundra, can be heard for 10 miles (16.1 kilometers).**


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